The HK$150 banknotes come in different categories - single notes at HK$280, "four- in-one uncut" notes at HK$1,888 per set, and "35-in-one uncut" notes at HK$18,888.

Chan Wing-fai, who runs two coin and stamp shops in Mong Kok and Lam Tin, said the small rise in value was unexpected. "The increase is very small, and I am disappointed," Chan said.

He said the market value of "four-in-one uncut" notes only climbed 38 percent from HK$1,888 to HK$2,600, while the "35-in- one uncut" notes saw only a 16 percent rise from HK$18,888 to HK$22,000.

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The increase was even smaller for a single note, from HK$280 to HK$300 - a mere 7 percent.

"I received about 200 orders from the mainland when the special Olympic notes were issued last year. This year, I have only received 20 orders for the HK$150 notes," Chan said.

He said the Standard Chartered banknotes are too costly to attract buyers, even though they were issued in a much smaller quantity than the special Olympic notes.

Last year, 20,000 sets of special Olympic notes were issued for each "four-in-one uncut" notes and "35-in-one uncut" notes.

This year, Standard Chartered only issued 10,000 and 6,000 sets of "four-in-one" uncut and "35-in-one" uncut HK$150 notes.

But the market value of the "35-in-one" uncut special Olympics notes have soared from the purchase price of HK$1,388 to HK$8,000 - almost a 500-percent rise.

Chan said the success of the Olympic notes attracted a lot of rash youngsters who wanted to make some quick money from the Standard Chartered notes, selling them immediately after purchase, leaving no time and room for their market value to climb.

About 350 people queued outside the Standard Chartered branch in Kwun Tong at about 8am yesterday, waiting for the notes to go on sale. The first person in line had waited since 3am. He was not selected to purchase the "four-in-one uncut" and "35-in-one uncut" sets, settling for three single notes.

More than 150 people queued outside the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, with the first in queue waiting since 8pm on Wednesday.

Miu Chan, who has bought a self-selected serial note, said she would not sell it even if the price soars 10-fold because the serial number is her wedding date.