The 1997 Hong Kong five dollar coin (about 65 cents US) does not just have one bat on it, it has five. And these are not supposed to be representative of bats as wildlife, but they have a symbolic meaning. As a symbol known as wu fu the five bat design represents: long life, wealth, health, love of virtue and peaceful death. This symbol is widely used in parts of Chinese culture and can be found on quite a number of objects. Unlike in so many places where bats are associated with the dark and scary, in Chinese culture they represent happiness and joy. And your Chinese lesson for the day is that the word for bat "fu" is the same word "fu" for good fortune.
So here is a relatively modern coin just over an inch in diameter (27mm) and a beefy 0.4 ozs (13.4g). it weighs so much because it is very thick, with the Chinese symbols for "Hong Kong Five Dollars" written around the edge. It is composed of a standard Copper Nickel alloy and was minted with a strong, shiny finish. There is also a proof issue for this coin.
So here is a relatively modern coin just over an inch in diameter (27mm) and a beefy 0.4 ozs (13.4g). it weighs so much because it is very thick, with the Chinese symbols for "Hong Kong Five Dollars" written around the edge. It is composed of a standard Copper Nickel alloy and was minted with a strong, shiny finish. There is also a proof issue for this coin.
1997 Hong Kong five dollar coin with the five blessings bat symbol
The reverse of the of the coin has the Bauhinia flower on it, or more specifically the Bauhinia x blakeana flower on it. You can Google that if you want to sort out the history and taxonomy of the national symbol of Hong Kong.
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