New Century Coins & Notes 新世紀錢幣鈔票, Rm 217, Causeway Bay Shopping Centre, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong (2026)

Name: New Century Coins & Notes 新世紀錢幣鈔票
Address: Rm 217, Causeway Bay Shopping Centre, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, HK
Telephone: +85228691632

13/04/2020

各位讀者，復活節快樂！

說起復活節，怕且與此節日關係最密切之錢幣，必然係《聖經》所載，猶大／猶達斯出賣耶穌的「三十銀錢」。這種銀錢稱為 Shekel，中文分別譯為「舍客勒」或「協刻耳」，由於這種羅馬錢幣兩面只刻上鷹與羅馬神像，而無當世統治者雕像，是故能於聖殿通用（但聖殿卻又諷刺地接受有異教神像），其時聖殿門外兌換攤，大概就大量處理這種錢幣。

三十銀錢到底有幾多，足以出賣三年師徒之情？當時，猶太人每年往聖殿稅幣半個銀錢，可見大祭司為對付耶穌這眼中釘，出手相當豐厚！三十銀錢，無異終身免向聖殿繳稅有餘，難怪猶大／猶達斯竟然心動——不過他亦轉瞬後悔，而且下場悽慘……

保持忠信、不動貪念，果然重要，無論大家何種信仰，祝願大家一個平安喜樂復活佳節，並衷心祈願疫情早過、公義常彰。

Happy Easter, everyone!

The one coin that relates to the Holy Day of Easter, doubtlessly, has to be the Roman Shekel, the one Judas Iscariot got paid thirty of them as the price of his master and Lord Jesus. The Shekel is special also because of how it was accepted by the Great Temple as a means of temple tax, because it only bears on its two sides the Roman eagle and a pagan god but not any living ruler's depiction (one has to ask though why Baal and Melqart are more acceptable than Caesar). The courtyard money changers would have been dealing with thousands of these a year.

So how much is this Shekel worth to get Judas to sell his beloved teacher? Well, the Temple Tax back then was 1/2 Shekel per year per head, so Judas actually received more than a life-long free membership from the Chief Priests - that IS one tempting offer. But then we know, Judas, after receiving his coins, regretted immediately and got himself a very bitter ending. "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." So we pray the same way in nearly all faiths.

Whatever your belief, we wish you an Easter full of peace and joy. We pray for the pandemic to end soon, and we hope for the justice of our home.

09/04/2020

今日係受難節前夕，聖週星期四，教徒會記得耶穌於此日建立聖餐、為門徒洗腳，不過……英女皇聖週四派錢？？！

絕無聽錯！英國皇室，作為歐洲基督徒家庭典範（宗教改革後更係英國聖公會最高元首），最遲於 1210 年英王約翰起，每年都於聖週四舉行聖禮時，仿效耶穌為門徒洗腳榜樣，向窮苦人家送上禮物，由最初實際贈醫施藥，到送贈一套 Maundy Money 銀幣，流傳至今則變成送贈以表揚為公益及教會等福利機構服務者。

至於何謂 Maundy？Maundy 此字源自拉丁文 Mandatum，意即「命令」，即指耶穌為門徒濯足時「彼此相愛，如同我愛了你們一樣」之命令，是故英語世界，聖週星期四亦稱為 Maundy Thursday。

今年疫情影響，英國皇室原定於溫莎堡聖佐治堂舉行之 Royal Maundy Service 已宣告取消。不過英皇室一貫支持各種福利工作，疫病之中，肯定更加急切。

願疫情早日結束，感染者康復，女皇與皇室成員平安。

Thursday in the Holy Week. We all know that Jesus supped with his beloved apostles, but... the Queen giving out money? Is that for real?

The answer is... a definite yes! To say, from as late as 1210 in the reign of King John of England, the British Monarchy has been giving out donations to the poor and needy, from actual food and garments to a set of specially minted silver coins, called the "Maundy Money", all the way till this very day. After all, the British Monarchy has long styled themselves as Christian role models - and in post-reformation ages the Head of the Church of England. Today the silver coins are given to pensioners who are celebrated for their work in charity and church bodies.

But what on earth is "Maundy"? The word "Maundy" comes from Latin "mandatum", meaning an instruction or order. This refers to Jesus's "new commandment" to his apostles, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." This is also why in the English-speaking world, "Holy Thursday" is called "Maundy Thursday".

The worldwide pandemic has had this year's Royal Maundy Service, planned to be held at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle cancelled. But certainly the Royal Family's charity work would be even busier with more and more people affected.

Wishing for the end of this pandemic, and for the recovery of all infected, as well as the peace and wellness to the Queen and the Royal Family.

06/04/2020

香港貨幣眾多別名中，「斗零」應算最為廣傳。到底「斗零」之名，可有意思？

故事要由清朝講起。生意人想從中取利，自然不願顧客知道來貨價錢，於是將數目字換上了一套生意行內暗語，從壹到拾排序如下:
壹：之
貳：臣
叁：斗
肆：蘇
伍：馬
陸：零
柒：猴
捌：庄
玖：灣
拾：響

一八九零年，李鴻章訪德回國，借鑑外國經驗，展開了中國錢幣改革。滿清於光緒年間開始建立錢幣制度，將過去以重量流通的銀錠改用為有系統的銀圓，這樣一來市民使用上更加方便。訂制中又把銀圓分類如下：
三分六厘：伍分
七分二厘：壹毫
一錢四分四厘：貳毫
三錢六分：半圓
七錢二分：壹圓……如此類推

心水清的讀者，必然已發現「三分六厘＝五分」跟商人行內暗語有所關連！只須將暗語配上數字，叁換上「斗」，陸換上「零」，五分錢（如今叫五仙）就係「斗零」喇！

萬勿少看這「斗零」威力呀！一九六六年，天星小輪向政府申請加價斗零，結果引發香港六七暴動，死傷者眾，至今提起，仍有餘悸！

每枚錢幣、每張鈔票，都各自記載著那些年藏在歷史與民生之間的獨有點滴，值得大家細味學習與欣賞。

One of the most famous nicknames given to Hong Kong coins goes to the 5 cent coin, which is the “Dau Ling” (斗零), literally meaning “funnel crumbs” – yes, it seems to actually mean nothing at all, at least to the general public. But this name has its great story to tell.

The “Dau Ling” name dates all the way back to Ching Dynasty, when there were shop owners and dealers who would not like their customers to know the acquired cost of their goods. So what they did was inventing a set of secret codes, by renaming the digits one to ten with ten words:
One: Jee (之)
Two: Sun (臣)
Three: Dau (斗)
Four: So (蘇)
Five: Ma (馬)
Six: Ling (零)
Seven: Hau (猴)
Eight: Jong (庄)
Nine: Wan (灣)
Ten: Heung (響)

Now in 1890, Li Hongzhang, after returning from Germany, brought about a financial reform in China basing on his studies on European countries. By the time Emperor Guangxu was in place, he had already well established a silver dollar system, replacing the millennia old method of weighing silver taels. This was a huge change, and one that made everybody’s life much easier. Here are the Silver dollar units and their weights:

5 cent: 3 candareens & 6 cash
10 cents: 7 candareens & 2 cash
20 cents: 1 mace, 4 candareens & 4 cash
½ dollar: 3 mace & 6 candareens
1 dollar: 7 mace & 2 candareens
… and so on…

If you had been careful enough, you would have already noticed something. 5 cents. 3 candareens & 6 cash. What if we swap “3” and “6” with their secret codes? Bingo! That’s “Dau Ling”!

5 cents may be barely significant in today’s standards, but way back in the 1960s Hong Kong, this small amount created as much turmoil as you could imagine. In 1966, the Star Ferry proposed a fare rise of 5 cents, and it triggered the 1967 riot which is still dreaded by many Hongkongers today.

So you see every coin tells its own story, as well as the story of its country, its people, and its times. It is well worth spending all the effort finding a special one, or similarly spending many hours looking up the history of an “indifferent” and “insignificant” coin like the “Dau Ling”.

Address

Rm 217, Causeway Bay Shopping Centre, Causeway Bay
Hong Kong

Telephone

+85228691632

Website

https://www.coins-notes.com/

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