500 Dollars Standard Chartered Bank

Standard Chartered's Hong Kong dollar notes of this period were issued under the colonial currency ordinance that granted three commercial banks — Standard Chartered, HSBC, and Bank of China — the right to issue legal tender backed by certificates of indebtedness held with the Exchange Fund. The $500 was the second-highest denomination in circulation, which meant it saw relatively limited everyday handling; most turned up in payroll disbursements and inter-business settlements rather than retail use.

Thomas De La Rue produced the series throughout its run, consistent with their long relationship with Standard Chartered's Hong Kong issues going back decades. The watermark remains the primary security feature — modest by later standards, but sufficient for the era before the 1994 series introduced more complex elements ahead of the handover.