Trial Strikes: A Logical Analysis of and Empirical Inference on a Secret of Dragon Coins

By Quanmo Yishanren
05/23/2013

http://bbs.bqcoin.com/read-htm-tid-3280.html

This article will reflect on the dragon culture and dragon coins in China, focusing on the logical analysis of and empirical inference on a unique phenomenon of dragon coins. The purpose is to lift the shroud on a mystery and to explore the culture and varieties of Chinese precious metal coins. Reader comments are welcome, so that the subject can be studied in depth and the issue further researched.

I.                    Dragon Culture and Dragon Coins

(Omitted – translator)

II.                  Highlight and Mystery of the 1988 Lunar Dragon Coins

1988 was a year in the Chinese numismatic history that deserves close attention, because it was not only the first year after the formal founding of the China Gold Coin Inc. on December 22, 1987, but also the Year of Dragon in the lunar calendar system. The Central Bank started the 1 oz, 5 oz and 12 oz gold coin types when releasing the lunar coins, which have been very popular among Chinese gold coins. Among the small number of gold and silver coins of the year, many have been the topics of conversation up till today. It is not an exaggeration to say that error coins, error medals, patterns and world award winning coins all happened to make their appearance this very year! These include the error coin of the 15^th Winter Olympics silver coin (mistaken for 16^th), the error commemorative gold medal for the Basel Coin Week, the wrong use of the design on the 24^th Olympics gold and silver coins as well as the rumor of their patterns, the rare phenomenon on the design on the obverse of the 1988 5 oz silver panda, and the mystery of the lunar Dragon coins. Among these, the Dragon coins are quite an eye opener!

Although we are only 25 years away from 1988, the time through the quarter of a century obliterated many facts, including the complete historical information on the approval, production and sales of the lunar Dragon coins. Against the fast moving China and Chinese gold coins after the reform and opening up, everything seems to be fading away with the passage of time. If we fail to dig out and comb through historical data in a timely fashion right now, we will leave even more doubts and bigger mysteries to the next generations. If we are lucky, we can manage to restore the truth in the coming days. The mystery of the varieties of the 1 oz Dragon coins is one such case.

1.       Outstanding Year of Dragon Coins

Among the 1988 Dragon coin types, the 1 oz and 12 oz coins were minted by Shanghai Mint. The theme of twin dragons playing a ball was taken from the artistic work on the Nine Dragon Screen in the Imperial Garden. The design came from Mr. Zhu Dechun, who is now deceased. The 12 oz coin was engraved by Mr. Zeng Chenghu of Shanghai Mint, and the 1 oz coin was engraved by Mr. Yi Shizhong, who was working for Shanghai Mint then. For that matter, the design of the twin dragons playing with a ball on the 1 oz platinum, gold and silver coins was slightly different from that on the 12 oz gold and silver coins.

Later, it was proved that the 1988 lunar Dragon coins were more than outstanding. The 1 oz gold, silver and platinum coins became the flagships of their respective series. Moreover, the 12 oz silver coin won the "Best Silver Coin" award at the 1990 Klaus and World Coin News World Coin Grand Prix. Even today, the 1 oz piedfort silver lunar coins series, with its start in the Year of Dragon, are still chased by lunar coin collectors.

2.        Mystery Surrounding the 1 Oz Lunar Dragon Coins

Interestingly, the two obvious varieties of the 1 oz gold and silver Dragon coins gradually caught collectors' attention. As officials keep their mouth shut, common folks have different interpretations, including the so-called "large date" and "small date" varieties, with the large dates from Shenyang Mint. Other claims include sighting of the large date gold coins in a ten-piece plastic sheet, and large date platinum Dragon coins.

a.       Initial Exploration of the Varieties of 1 Oz Lunar Dragon Coins and Counter Argument

Despite the different views in the collector community, the first person who focused on this issue was Mr. Ge Zukang. He contributed a special post "On the Different Minor Varieties of 1988 Lunar Year of the Dragon Gold Coins" (http://bbs.jibi.net/dispbbs.asp?boardid=70&Id=204471) in July, 2010, thus opening a door for discussing this issue. Only Mr. Ge missed a couple of points in our current view when he discussed the varieties of the 1 oz Dragon coins, probably because it was the first time for him to touch on this issue: First, he defined the varieties of the Dragon coins as minor. In my view, these different varieties are far from minor. (I have my own definitions of major and minor varieties. Those interested can refer to http://bbs.chngc.net/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=42969&extra=) Secondly, in the varieties that Mr. Ge analyzed, Zeng Chenghu Variety 1 actually does not exist. It is a picture taken from the official catalogs of the China Gold Coin Inc. There is no such physical coin. (Just in passing, there is no shortage of similar official pictures from China Gold Coin Inc. Although some are indeed pattern designs, more are just distorted pictures.) The Yi Shizhong Varieties 2 and 3 are actually the same, the only difference being that Variety 2 is a picture of the coin, while Variety 3 was the physical coin. That means that only Yi Shizhong Varieties 3 and 4 actually exist. Third, it is not quite right to call them Yi Shizhong varieties, because the difference is on the obverse, and the obverse was not engraved by Mr. Yi Shizhong. The so-called "large date" variety not only has a large date, but all the other details are different. It is because the obverse of the so-called "large date" 1 oz Dragon coin was taken from the obverse of the 1 oz Panda gold coin of that year. The designer of the obverse and reverse of the 1988 1 oz Panda gold coin was Mr. Yan Jingkui. (The 1986 Panda gold coin designed and engraved by Mr. Yan Jingkui won the "National One Hundred Flowers Award for Arts and Crafts".) The engraver of the non-large date variety of the 1 oz Dragon coins was Mr. Chen Jian of Shanghai Mint, who engraved the obverse of the 1982-1984 and 1987 Panda gold coins. In this sense, the so-called Yi Shizhong Varieties 2 and 3, which are the non-large date Dragon coins, should be Chen Jian Variety, and the Yi Shizhong Variety 4, which is the so-called "large-date variety", should be Yan Jingkui Variety.

b.       Further Investigation of the 1 Oz Lunar Dragon Coins

We have gained a basic understanding of the 1988 1 oz lunar Dragon coins. But a crucial question arises for the masses of coin collectors and researchers: Why did two varieties of the 1 oz Dragon coins turn up, the Yan Jingkui Variety (Yan Variety for short) and the Chen Jian Variety (Chen Variety for short)? What is their significance and what was their respective mintage?

In fact, before looking further into these questions, we have to bring up the 1 oz piedfort Dragon silver coin and the 1 oz Dragon platinum coin, because so far, in addition to the common Chen Variety 1 oz piedfort silver Dragon, we have observed on the market the more scarce Yan Variety 1 oz piedfort silver Dragon. Moreover, the difference between the Chen Variety and the Yan Variety piedfort silver coins is not limited to the obverse. The designs of two dragons playing a ball on the reverse are obviously different, which does not exist on the gold Dragon coins of the Chen and Yan Varieties. It is rumored that someone saw the platinum Dragon coin of the Yan Variety. I am not going to dwell on it since I have never seen it. As for the official coin pictures of the 1 oz piedfort silver Dragon, the only record available is in the official book The Printing and Minting of Modern Chinese Currencies, published by the China Financial Publishing House in 1998. In addition to the picture of the silver coin of the Yan Variety on page 147, it specifically mentions the few "new technological successes for our country's commemorative coins through continuous research and experiment……'Two dragons playing a ball' proof lunar gold and silver coins were first released in 1988" in Bullet 3 of "Minting Technologies" under the minting "Exploration and Innovation" section on page 150.

This shows that the Chen and Yan Varieties not only exists on the 1 oz gold coin, but also on the 1 oz silver coin, and probably on the platinum coin. Returning to the topic above, why did these varieties occur?

Through inquiries to those involved, and based on official written data available for perusing now (which are my own methods of research), the basic conclusion is: the Yan Variety Dragon coins were trial strikes from the need to test technologies in the trial production of coin types of these specifications. This is my basic understanding of the coin types after excluding them from the possibilities of fakes, error coins or special strikes, and this understanding is agreed on by Shanghai Mint. The answer from the mint to my conclusion that the 1 oz Dragon coins were trial strike is: it was the first time for the mint to produce coin types of these specifications. Due to the lack of technical readiness and time crunch, the die of the obverse of the Panda gold coin of the year was used temporarily in the trial production of the Dragon coins. By the time of formal production, the matching obverse design was still not available. As it was considered improper to use exactly the same design as the obverse of the Panda gold coins of that year, the obverse of the 1987 Panda gold coin was adopted, which was also a world renowned classic design. The 1 oz lunar coins started to have a uniform obverse design of the national emblem with flowers from the 1989 Snake coin to the 1999 Rabbit coin. In fact, as far as the possibilities I can come up with, I feel that apart from technical considerations, decision-making and human relations during that particular historical period might also have played a role in the background of this issue. Of course the actual happenings on this perspective are difficult to investigate, and it might not be a good idea to do so as our focus is on the varieties themselves.

Has our current understanding of the coins as trial strikes added new members to the rank of Chinese precious metal coin patterns on the market, with interesting and simultaneous appearance of coins made of gold, silver and platinum? It may not be that simple, because there are different views on Chinese precious metal coin patterns in the trade, especially among coin collectors. These differences arise on the nature of patterns, their categorization and their valuation. We can refer to the patterns of milled coins of the pre-PRC times in our understanding and determination of Chinese precious metal coin patterns, but they are also distinctly different. Those patterns of milled coins of the pre-PRC times are no longer under the legal protection of our country, and so many of them are fakes (as their steel dies are available at auctions) with no legal protection. On the other hand, the patterns of Chinese precious metal coins, as the currency issued by the current regime, are not suffering from this weakness. Yet they are faced with another dilemma: according to the applicable law of our country, patterns of issued coins are confidential, while patterns of unissued coins are top secrets. Under these conditions, what is the proper perspective on patterns? Thanks to the unique circumstances during the specific historical period, some patterns of early Chinese gold coins still turn up on the market, get circulated and fall into strong hands. This is a highly interesting numismatic phenomenon deserving close watch! It is worth further exploration in the future.

A related question is the quantity of the patterns. Based on the consensus on the market and in the collector community, patterns of Chinese gold coins are very small in number! Without agreement on the nature and concept of patterns, some would claim that a pattern should be the only specimen; others say that patterns normally come in four. The 1989 Dragon and Phoenix and the 1992 Dragon and Horse are relatively larger in number with undetermined quantity, but still remain extremely rare. These facts remind us that our understanding and research of patterns still need improvement! As for the number of the 1 oz Dragon coins of the Yan Variety, we cannot decide on their individual mintage, but based on the norm of trial strikes at that time, they should be very small in number – currently, it is mostly the 1 oz gold Dragon coin of the Yan Variety that is sighted once in a while. Even though trial strikes do not have a fixed number in production, i.e. they can be more or less, depending on how soon the specifications are met, what is the largest number by estimate? According to those working at the mints, the maximum number of trial strikes is a few dozen. Of course, when it is hard to find the number in the records, we can let time solve the puzzle as it flows on. The purpose of my focusing on this topic and of my research is to promote and expand the awareness among more people, so that owners of these coins will come forward. That will take us closer to truth!

c.       Looking Deeper into the Mystery of the Varieties of the Lunar Dragon Coins

Apart from previous discussions, the following question may be asked: since the design, production and melting of trial strikes follow a relatively strict procedure, how did the 1 oz Dragon coins of the Yan Variety survive melting and make it to the market, if they were indeed trial strikes?

With our holistic view of the Chinese precious metal coins during the 80s and 90s, my conclusions through comprehensive observation and investigation include the following: (1). This coin is not unique in getting to the market. Other trial strikes are available on the market, too. Even trial strikes of gold coins with the wording "Pattern" on them have been sighted. Some trial strikes currently deemed extremely rare were sold from official channels. For example Quanyouzhai (name of an official coin outlet – translator) sold the gold trial strikes of the Decade of Women. (2). The business meeting held on October 20, 1995 by China Gold Coin Inc. to focus on the inventory of gold and silver commemorative coins (on page 29 of Annual Book of China Gold Coin Inc., 1987-2007) specifically cited what needed to be removed from the coin inventories, which included two categories of gold and silver coins: those not minted according to approved patterns and those minted beyond the planned mintage. In 2002, the China Gold Coin Inc. monitored their melting following the document Approval of Melting of Some Gold and Silver Commemorative Coin Inventories from the Gold and Silver Division of the Central Bank. This proves that the Dragon coin of the Yan Variety was not a unique case. (3). As a legal entity, the China Gold Coin Inc., registered and founded at the end of 1987, did allow for leeway for such coins to be marketed due to ownership and similar issues in its own process of adopting independent accountability and self-financing.

Although I cannot claim that the mystery of the 1 oz Dragon coins is totally cleared up for now, at least we have a better understanding of this issue. Or we can say that another window is opened to gain more knowledge about it. The Numismatic Society of Shanghai Mint has included these coins in their study after I contacted them for information. It is said that the Rongli Institute in Shanghai (under the management of Huang Ruiyong – translator) is also working on them. I hope more people can join the research on this coin, and reach more solid and convincing conclusions!

III.                The Motivation and Purpose of My Research on the 1 Oz Dragon Coins

I have three motivations/purposes in the research of the 1988 1 oz Dragon coins as an individual case of study:

First, through this case study, I wish to explore the mechanism of some phenomena associated with early Chinese gold coins, so that I can better grasp similar phenomena and trigger collective reflections and explorations by fellow collectors of Chinese gold coins as an attempt of empirical study and cultural development. This case study in particular can enrich and deepen my knowledge of Chinese numismatics. The publication of my initial research findings can trigger discussions, which may in turn lead me as the researcher to more findings! Of course, by sharing the findings, more people will stand to gain knowledge or benefit.

Second, through this research, I wish to gain better understanding and a more rational estimate of the trial strikes of Chinese gold and silver coins. At present, it seems that trial strikes are deemed extremely elusive and expensive, beyond the reach of common folks. The reality may be very different. Although there is a big gap between the numismatic culture and valuation of coins of our country and those countries relatively more developed, we in fact have our originality and a solid foundation in numismatic research. What we need is the building of a Chinese gold coin culture and expansion of the market, based on correct understanding of the coins and of ourselves.

Third, this study opens our eyes to many anecdotes and research subjects previously unknown or unfamiliar to us. These anecdotes are extremely interesting, and the research subjects offer chances of great value. For those who are devoted to the enjoyment and study of coins, these research subjects are well worth watching out for and getting deeply involved in, which in turn will greatly accelerate the evolution of Chinese gold coins and the numismatic culture. 

Nine Dragon Screen (added by translator)

Some Fun Facts about Gold and Silver Lunar Coins from the PRC

by Huang Ruiyong
2008-01-01
Source： http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_503fb35b010084bl.html

(Poem omitted)

The topic today is kind of big, making it challenging to write about.

As we all know, lunars are the biggest theme among gold and silver coins from the PRC. In addition, we all have our own lunar animal. This theme is an eternal one among the Chinese.

Since I am going to talk about fun facts, I will not pull a long face and discuss lunar coins in dead seriousness. Instead, it is better to get a pot of old wine or a nice cup of Longjing tea, and comment on them leisurely in the night breeze.

It was a quarter century back when the first set of lunar coins made their appearance: 8 gram gold Rooster and 15 gram silver Rooster. Since then, lunar coins have been released year after year. We feel that coins from some years leave a relatively deeper impression in our memory.

From the 1981 Rooster onwards, the convention was an 8 gram gold coin matched by a 15 gram silver coin, which remained undisrupted till the 1987 5oz silver Rabbit came on the scene. The rabbit couple by Liu Jiyou is truly gorgeous, leaving a lingering impression on us.

In 1988, with the official incorporation of China Gold Coins Co., lunar coins were expanded dramatically both in breeds and mintage, like the opening of flood gates of a reservoir.

This very year, 5oz and 12oz gold coins were launched with fanfare, and each had a mintage of 3,000 and 500 respectively;

The same year, 5oz and 12oz silver coins also made their appearance;

The same year, 1oz platinum, 1oz gold and 1oz silver coins were all released, like colorful flowers dazzling to human eyes.

Of course, the little brothers of 8 gram gold and 15 gram silver coins were dwarfed in the huge family now, watching their cousins in fear, not understanding how come so many powerful members had been added to the family overnight.

But the family of lunar coins without birth control ran into a stone wall in 1989. Due to diminished demand, as well as the political turmoil of the year, the 1989 Snake coins saw drastic cuts in mintage. This, as I said before, unexpectedly boosted the luck of the 12oz silver Snake, 5oz silver Snake and 1oz piedfort Snake, making them the undisputed star in their respective category.

Fast forward to 1992: Monkey coins of this year were all scaled down in mintage, and, starting from this year, 5oz and 12oz large size gold coins  stabilized at the mintage of 99 pieces each, while 1oz platinum coins stabilized at 300 minted pieces. The 12oz silver coins were settling down at 500 pieces, while 5oz silver coins stayed at the release mintage of 1,000. It looked as if lunar coins were buckling down, in an effort to restore their past glory.

Then came 1993. The second round of lunar coins made it to the stage. The 8 gram and 15 gram lunars completed their historical mission, and retired in glory. But, to maintain the diversity of the lunar coins, the plum flower coins were launched to the market in splendor.

Afterwards, big chunks of gold were released to add more weight to the lunar family, in order to impress collectors. So in 1995, the kilo Pig gold coin ascended the stage. It is plum flower shaped, and is simply called "big fat plum pig". This kilo lunar gold coin has a tiny mintage of 15, an extreme rarity.

The 1996 and 1997 mass craze over stamps, bank notes, coins, and cards aroused the interest of the issuing authorities, which expanded the product lines. Some of the 1997 Ox coins were issued in 1996, and 1/10oz gold coins as well as 1oz BU silver coins were added, too. The more breeds the better? I beg to differ.

After that, the 1998 colored gold Tiger and colored silver Tiger were released in late 1997, unveiling colored gold and silver coins in Mainland China.

The millennium happened to be the year of Dragon. Of course the King of All would not let go of this grand opportunity. This Dragon was as creative as its elder brother in 1988. 5oz rectangular gold and silver coins replaced their round shaped predecessors, and, lo and behold, fan shaped lunar coins were brought to the market, too.

The next year was the year of Horse. We all know the phrase "vigor of a dragon or a horse." This shows how closely they are related. The Horse was pondering: If you Dragon could add to the breed, why can't I make a big name for myself in history? Why not? And so the kilo silver Horse came out of the blue, adding a new member to the lunar family.

But both Dragon and Horse were totally overshadowed by the upcoming third generation Pig. The kilo Horse was the top coin among lunar silver coins, but before the 10 kilo gold Pig, it was pathetic besides being tragic. Starting from the third generation Pig, lunar coins would send a chill down our spine.

So much for the genealogy of the lunar coins. Next, let's pick out some of their fun facts.

We notice that the expertise in the design of lunar coins has been widely varied and perplexing. Not only the early coins, but many new coins are jaw-dropping in the consistency of their design. Here are a few examples:

Take the lunar kilo silver coins. The big brother is the kilo silver Horse, which made quite a sensation when it was launched. I took a few careful looks at it. The obverse is the Great Administration Hall of the Shenyang Imperial Palace, a great historical building. Good choice!

But the following Sheep perplexed me. How come the obverse changed to stone figures on the eaves tile of the Han Dynasty? Where did the historical building go?

The year after, paper-cut patterns magically made it to the obverse of the Monkey coins, which continued to the year of Dog. This got me into thinking: too bad for the committees who review the designs and patterns of Chinese gold and silver commemorative coins. There are no real gold and silver collectors among them for sure. Otherwise, how could any true collector approve these inconsistent designs? In analogy, a truly great painter has to be a top collector first. If Zhang Daqian had not collected paintings by Dong Yuan and Shi Tao, his ink and color paintings could not have been this sharp.

Let's go back to the first round of plum flower lunar coins. Alas, the onset of the second round of plum flower coins got their elder brothers into trouble.

Among the first round of 1/2oz plum flower gold coins, the 1993 Rooster was made in 24k gold. But from Dog on, Pig, Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit and Dragon were all 22k gold. It would be OK if this spec continued. But the naughty plum flower gold coins had their own mind. So from Snake on, till Monkey, the coins reverted to 24k gold. OK then. As if by design, this family is split into two teams: the 24k team has 7 members, and the 22k team has 5 members. They are basically balanced in force. Discipline does not apply where there are too many violators.

If the first round of plum flower gold coins still exercised some professional discipline, their silver little brothers acted just on their own free will, without any sense of shame.

There was nothing extraordinary from the 1993 plum flower silver Rooster to the 2000 plum flower silver Dragon. They were all 2/3oz, 90% silver. When it came to Snake, the little brother of Dragon, there was a dramatic change in nature, even in the technical specs. From Snake up to Horse, Sheep and Monkey, all were 1oz 99.9% silver, which is extremely disturbing. The poor collector's exquisite ready-made coin box now became the unbearable lightness of being.

Equally puzzling are the 1oz platinum series. Platinum is too expensive to be used for commemorative coins. It is possible that the existing series of platinum lunar coins will become rarities with no successors.

Among the platinum lunar coins, the 1oz platinum Dragon has the Great Wall on its obverse, but from the 1oz platinum Snake on to the platinum Rabbit, the obverse changed to the national emblem. The series would look harmonious enough if we treated the 1oz platinum Dragon as an exception.

But if we look into the details, things turn out to be messy, because we find that the national emblem has both the frosted and non-frosted versions. They become an eye sore when placed together. Snake has no frosting, while coins from Horse to Pig are frosted. But frosting is missing on Rat to Rabbit. What can I say? Just a sigh.

As for the release mintage, the changes are gut-wrenching. Here are some examples:

The 1/10oz gold lunars started in 1997, with Ox at 48,000 minted pieces.  Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse and Sheep followed closely, for fear of being left behind. But the second generation Monkey thought well of its own IQ, and, taking advantage of human weakness, boosted its mintage to 60,000.

1oz BU silver Monkey was as undisciplined. Its elder brothers all had a mintage of 50,000. But this guy self-promoted its mintage to 80,000, making our blood boil.

As for the 12oz and 5oz gold lunars, as well as 12oz and 5oz silver lunars, why did the initial disorder finally get sorted out? The credit goes to the 1992 Monkey. Its position among lunar coins can be compared to the feat of reviving prosperity in the mid Han Dynasty, keeping the upcoming releases in good order. 

The 12oz and 5oz round lunar gold coins are very elusive as a complete set. Starting from the gold Monkey, their release mintage stabilized at 99 pieces. The actual mintage fluctuated between 102-105 pieces. But there were exceptions. For example, due to the market collapse in 1997, the actual mintage of the 12oz gold Ox was a mere 64, the smallest number among 12oz lunar gold coins.

Of course, there are some embarrassing facts that we have to mention. I am not sure whether we should laugh or weep over them.

If anyone wants to collect the whole series of 5oz round lunar silver coins, the following fact looks puzzling: the 5oz silver luars started with the 1987 Rabbit, and ended with the 1999 Rabbit. Contrary to expectation, the whole series consisted of 13 pieces of 5oz round silver coins.

The crafty Rabbit dug two holes leading to his burrow. What a heck! This leaves us collectors scratching our head. Should we collect the series from 87 to 98, or from 88 to 99? It will be long before anyone can come up with a good answer.

The first round of plum flower lunar coins also went awry in the end, wrecking their reputation. From the 1993 Rooster, the obverse was well-known historical buildings, such as Wangjianglou in Chengdu on the plum flower Rat, Mingyuanlou in Nanjing on Ox, and Guanquelou on Snake. But then we have eaves tile figures on Sheep and paper-cut patterns on Monkey. The reputation previously built was totally wrecked in the end. Sad. A sigh.

I asked a lot of people in private for their ranking of the lunars. Here are the results:

Gold coins:
1.  8 gram lunars
2.  5oz round gold coins
3.  12oz round coins
4.  1oz round coins
5.  First round of plum flower gold coins

It should be specially noted that the 5oz round gold coins are actually enlarged 8 gram lunar coins. They all have Chinese paintings on them, and were exquisitely made. The only pity is that few people have the luck to see them now. We can only enjoy them in catalogs.

The ranking of silver lunar coins is:

1.  15 gram lunars
2.  12oz lunars
3.  5oz lunars
4.  1oz piedfort lunars
5.  Plum flower lunars

Platinum lunars have their own place, and they are all gorgeous coins.

Careful readers may ask: Why are 12oz coins ranked higher than 5oz coins among silver lunars? It is because among round gold coins, the 5oz ones are almost as rare as the 12oz ones. But silver lunars have a different story. The 12oz lunars are rarer than the 5oz ones. Naturally their overall ranking should be higher.

I will give two more fun facts.

1.  Large size coins have a smaller denomination than that small size coins on the same theme, in the same year. This goes against logic, but the lunar coins managed to pull it off, from 1988 to 1992. The 8 gram gold Dragon is 150 Yuan, but the 1oz gold Dragon is 100 Yuan; similarly, the 8 gram gold Monkey is 150 Yuan, but the 1oz gold Monkey is 100 Yuan. Unique.

2.  In general, gold and silver coins share the same design for the same theme in the same year. The difference is the denomination. The lunar coins basically followed this convention, with the following exceptions: 8 gram Ox and 15 gram Ox, 8 gram Dragon and 15 gram Dragon, 8 gram Horse and 15 gram Horse, 8 gram Sheep and 15 gram Sheep, 8 gram Monkey and 15 gram Monkey. That's all.

Now how do we collect lunar coins?

1.  In sets: for example, if one is to collect 5oz gold lunars, 12oz gold lunars, 12oz silver lunars, or platinum lunars, it is very difficult to buy individual coins to build a set. It is much better to bite the bullet and buy the complete set. It is cost-effective, too.

2.  Build sets from individual coins: this is good for 8 gram lunars, 15 gram lunars, 1oz gold and silver lunars and plum flower lunars. Building a set brings back the fun of stamp collection when we were young. As the collection grows, we gain a sense of success and satisfaction.

3.  Collect one's own lunar animals: Those born in the year of Rat will have a relatively tougher time, while those born in the year of Snake will find it easier. But this toughness and easiness are dynamic, because it is the supply and demand relation that determines the price.

4.   Collect the first coin in the series: for example the 8 gram gold Rooster, 5oz round gold Monkey, 12oz silver Snake, the kilo silver Horse, and so on.

5.  Collect award winners: for example the 15 gram silver Dog (World Best Crown Coin), 8 gram gold Rooster to 8 gram gold Ox (Gold Cup Winners in the Hundred-Flower Awards for Arts and Crafts), and the 12oz silver Dragon (World Best Silver Coin).

There are two series that I have to mention, for collectors focusing on particular features.

1.  The first round of 1oz piedfort lunar silver coins (1988 silver Dragon to 1999 silver Rabbit) belongs to the piedfort sector. Thumbs up. (I have a dedicated article on piedfort coins.)

2.  1/10oz colored gold coin series (from colored gold Tiger to Dog) belongs to the coin alignment sector. (I will have a dedicated article on coin alignment later on.) What is amazing is that the 1/10oz colored gold lunars have both the coin alignment and medal alignment types, adding to our fun of collection.

The problem with the 1oz gold lunars is that the mirror fields were not well struck. Dragon, Snake and Horse are all subpar.

Similarly, the first round of plum flower coins is a regret. Due to issues in the technological process (Dog, Ox, Tiger and Rabbit are very crude, looking like BU coins), the wonderful theme was just wasted. From that perspective, each and every one of the 8 gram lunars is a gem.

Why do we say that the 8 gram lunars are superior to other lunar coins? Let's take the example of Snake, the animal most difficult to depict. The 8 gram gold Snake is a masterpiece from the venerable master Qi Baishi, selected from several hundred snake paintings. It looks casually painted, but in fact it embodies profound mastery of art. The Snake by Ma Jin in 1989 lags by a big margin. But if we look at the snake painting from a group of designers in 2001 (Fu Lili, He Jun, Bai Limei, He Jie, Liu Tao, Yu Xiawei), Ma's Snake is obviously better.

Similarly, the 8 gram Rooster is from Xu Beihong, and is the most expressive one among rooster paintings by Master Xu, because the 1993 plum flower gold Rooster also from Xu Beihong is not on a par with the 8 gram Rooster, not to mention Roosters from Bai Ming and Liu Kuiling.

As there are too many lunar coins, we will just pick a few packages and COAs to talk about.

The China Gold Coin Co. made awesome coin set boxes for 1oz gold, platinum and silver lunar coins, which were distributed by Taisei Coin Corporation of Japan. The outside is a yellow silk box, and the inside is a red wooden box. It is said that the packaging, although a little crude, was made in Wenzhou. There are 12 cells around the red box, for holding 12 coins clockwise or counter-clockwise. In the middle of the 12 coins, a round cell is ingeniously created, for holding a bronze medal for the 12 lunar coins, which was designed by Zeng Chenghu and Chen Jian. Very interesting. In addition, there is a drawer at the bottom of the box, for storing COAs. This box is well worth collecting.

Also, Taisei, the distributor of 8 gram lunars and 15 gram lunars in those years, placed an order for teak wood boxes with Thailand. There are two layers in the box, the upper layer for coins and the lower layer for COAs. Very cute.

Packages for 5oz and 12oz round gold and silver lunar coins should be mentioned, too. The wooden box (for Dragon) is unique with a printed image of two dragons playing with a ball. Other coins, like Snake, Horse, and Sheep, are all packaged in a crude outside paper box and an inside wooden box. Not appealing to eyes.

Platinum lunar coins deserve special attention. First, we find that the mint was changed, from Shanghai Mint to Australia minting for China. One of the reasons given was that since China did not have much platinum, minting the coins in Australia would save the trouble of importing the raw material. But this cannot be a serious reason, because we did have the capability to mint platinum lunar coins, unlike the early colored gold coins, which were outsourced because China did not have the technical process in place.

Platinum lunars minted in Australia were not placed in a capsule in an outside plastic pouch, like coins from the PRC. Instead, the platinum coins were sealed in a square plastic capsule, much like the slabs from US grading services. It is fun to look at. Or raw coins were packaged in soft pouches. This left the coins with no hard-shell protection. Truly worrying.

From 1988, platinum, gold and silver lunar coins were marketed together. As a result, 1oz platinum, gold and silver coins were sold in a set. Every year, 100 such sets should have been issued, but I have never see the sets starting from the 1993 Rooster. If any collector friend has information on them, please share. Thanks!

Talking about COAs, I am most impressed with those for the platinum and 1oz gold coins. COAs for these two series are very similar. Among them, COAs for the platinum and gold Dragon and Snake coins are large in size, with very exquisite wave-like luster. Beautiful and magnificent. The 5 smaller COAs for Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster and Dog are not bad either. The remaining 5 COAs for Pig, Rat, Ox, Tiger and Rabbit have nothing special, worse than before.

The commemorative gold and silver kilo coins for the issue of 8 gram lunars are both extreme rarity. They are hard to find. The silver kilo coin has two varieties, with obvious differences in the rocks on the Baita Hill and in the wave lines on Beihai. They were the first kilo silver coins from the PRC, which had little experience in minting large coins. It is said that the die broke during minting, and re-strikes were made in 1997.

The 1999 kilo silver coin commemorating the 1oz lunar coins (1988-1999) has totally disappeared from the market. A rarity to be treasured! There is an error in the coin design: it is supposed to commemorate the 1oz lunar coins, but the Dragon coin on it does not have the 1oz gold or platinum Dragon design. Instead, the design on the 12oz silver Dragon is used. Even though the 12oz silver Dragon was the winner of a world award, designers should not have given it a green light, allowing it to rank among 1oz gold and platinum coins, spoiling the pure breed!

There are too many facts to talk about on lunar coins. It is absolutely impossible to exhaust them all at once. I will end here. Thanks for your time, everyone.