Just got these... one is the one I tried to buy earlier, but the seller disappeared... this time was finally able to get it: South Korea, 10,000 won, 1983 Also won this one... love the stylized dragon on the reverse (the Straits Settlements included what is now Singapore and portions of what is now Malaysia): Straits Settlements, 10 cents, 1919 And this one's not a dragon note, but it finally completes the Hong Kong SCB Series 2003 I've been working on! Front has a phoenix, back has a picture of Hong Kong as it looked circa 1970: Hong Kong, 500 dollars, 2003 These are basically my indulgences with my tax refund money this year! But may add smaller purchases as finances allow.
wow... awsome dragaon, awsome pheonix... i love the vingette of the circa 1970 Hong Kong. nice round of pick ups troodon
I especially liked seeing the scenes of Hong Kong through the years... was a great touch I think. Here's the whole series: Hong Kong, 20 dollars, 2003 (front: carp; back: Hong Kong c. 1850) Hong Kong, 50 dollars, 2003 (front: dragon turtle; back: Hong Kong c. 1890) Hong Kong, 100 dollars, 2003 (front: Chinese unicorn; back: Hong Kong c. 1930) Hong Kong, 500 dollars, 2003 (front: phoenix; back: Hong Kong c. 1970) Hong Kong, 1000 dollars, 2003 (front: dragon; back: Hong Kong c. 2003) Great series!
SCB's been putting a turtle dragon on their notes since about the 1980's. Considered to be a symbol of wealth and prosperity, it's a pretty fitting symbol for banknotes. He used to be on the $20 note but when the three banknote issuing companies in Hong Kong (Standard Chartered Bank, Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, and Bank of China) discontinued the $10 note, SCB dropped the chinze (temple dog) from the $20 note and promoted the carp and turtle-dragon up a denomination. The government of Hong Kong a few years ago tested out a $10 polymer note, which they still produce. I always think of Bowser from the Super Mario Brothers games whenever I see the turtle-dragon. Dragons are extremely prominent in Chinese mythology and a lot of their mythological creatures incorporate draconic features. Pretty much every animal on SCB's series since the 1980's does, except for the phoenix. It's long been believed by the Chinese (probably some of them still do) that various species of lizards are actually dragons in an early stage of development. Chinese mythology holds that it takes a good 2500 to 3000 years for a dragon to reach full maturity after hatching... the final life stage the dragon actually develops wings (oddly though, they gain the ability to fly before they actually have wings... though description of such "flight" sounds more like gliding. That belief is likely the inspriation for dragon-shaped kites.)
