On 11 July 2008, Bank of China (Hong Kong) announced the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games HK$20 commemorative banknote (Pick 340). A total of 4 million notes were printed. Although legal tender, the notes were sold as numismatic products above face value, with proceeds donated to charity.
Olympic numismatic firsts
The Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics were a landmark event for China, and the accompanying banknote programme was equally historic. Hong Kong’s HK$20 note (Pick P340) was not only the territory’s first dedicated commemorative legal-tender issue, but also part of the first Olympic-themed banknote set issued anywhere in the world — alongside a matching MOP20 from Macau and mainland commemorative coins.
Four million notes were printed and sold through BOCHK branches from 16 July 2008. Single folders at HK$138, four-in-one sheets and thirty-five-note sheets gave collectors multiple formats. Charity-linked pricing meant most examples never entered circulation, preserving fresh paper for today’s market.
Design and security
The reverse features the National Stadium — the Bird’s Nest — one of the most recognisable symbols of the 29th Olympic Games. The note measures 144 × 72 mm and shares the purple palette of the contemporary BOCHK HK$20 series, but adds bright watermark imagery and a colour-shifting windowed security thread.
Issue and collecting notes
- Public sales in Hong Kong ran from 16 to 31 July 2008 at designated BOCHK branches; single notes were priced at HK$138.
- Four-in-one uncut sheets (HK$338) and 35-in-one sheets (HK$1,388) were also offered, along with cross-border packages pairing HK and Macau Olympic notes.
- Beijing later hosted the 2022 Winter Games, making Hong Kong’s 2008 and 2022 Olympic notes — alongside Macau’s matching issues — a popular regional set for collectors.