Pawn Broker emblem | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

Pawn Broker emblem

Primary tabs

Submitted by philk on Mon, 2009-09-28 21:02

I was just wondering if anyone knew anything about the emblem used by Pawn shops - the red shield shape attached to the circle at the bottom. Does anyone know its significance and the history behind the emblem? In the UK the sign of a pawn broker is 3 hanging globes.

Forum: 
General
  • Log in or register to post comments

Submitted by moddsey on Tue, 2009-09-29 09:14.

A general explanation is given in Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pawnbroker

The Pawn

 

Submitted by philk on Tue, 2009-09-29 20:46.

aah yes, of course, wikipedia, sometimes the blindingly obvious escapes me. Thanks for the link Moddsey. Here is what it says (I've removed the in-text links):

"The symbol of a pawn shop in Hong Kong is a bat (the animal) holding a coin (traditional Chinese: 蝠鼠吊金錢, Cantonese: fūk syú diu gām chín). The bat signifies fortune and the coin signifies benefits."

Submitted by moddsey on Thu, 2009-10-01 10:01.

A triple pawn shop emblem off Choi Hung Rd

Pawn Shop Sign