Mr. Feng Jingjing's Work on Goldfish Medals

Mr. Feng Jingjing (RAREMEDAL on Chinese Coin Forum) published posts on the goldfish medals and answered my questions. Here is a summary of his posts, available at http://bbs.bqcoin.com/read.php?tid=3750.

I. Varieties of Goldfish Medals 

 1. Original brass goldfish medal (rare)

2. Another variety of the original brass medal, with modification to the die (scarce)

3.Restruck brass medal with frosting effect (reverse defect from the die)

4. Silver medal (variety 1), 22.3 grams without packaging

5.Silver medal (variety 2)

6. Silver medal (variety 3)

7. Gold plated restrike, striking followed by plating (about three varieties, with frequent die defect in the middle of the reverse)

8. Silver plated restrike (with the contrast between mirror and frosting, plating before striking, with frequent die defect on the reverse)

9. Silver plated brass restrike, no frosting, striking before plating (about three varieties, with frequent die defect in the middle of the reverse)

10. 1990 silver medal (variety 1)

11. 1990 silver medal (variety 2)

II. Mr. Feng's comments

 1.       Shanghai Mint produced a large number of gilt medals at a later time, basically in the 1990's. Judging from the medals themselves, their plastic pouches and boxes, we can conclude that gold and silver plated medals were restrikes.

2.       It is possible that the mint recycled brass medals stored for many years (normally with some oxidation) by plating them with gold and silver before selling them on the market. 

3.       The mint would keep some dies (used but still in good condition, meeting production standards), and use them to strike commemorative medals after a long interval of many years.

4.       Some varieties have not been seen, but they may exist. That's why I remarked "about 3 varieties".

5.       Some of the silver plated goldfish medals have contrasting mirror and frosting, but they are considerably lighter than silver medals. The silver medals weigh about 22.3 grams without packaging. The plate-then-strike technique was adopted by Shanghai Mint rather late. 

6.       Restrikes often have die defects in the middle of the reverse (the side with the goldfish drawing). This may have resulted from production in large quantity, with less strict quality control on finished products. Such defects were found in other Shanghai Mint commemorative medals, too. In the 1980's, the mints had been rigorous in their work. Proof commemorative medals had high prices, with strict quality standards. Defects like these were seldom found then.

7.       (This is the answer to my question on how the Dragon Eye has different aquatic plant shapes) The different shapes of the aquatic plant should have occurred during die making. When a mint strikes a large number of coins, each die has its strike life, and many sets of dies are needed. Differences can occur during the replication of working dies. This often happens to modern Chinese coins and medals. My guess is the following: the mintage of the original brass medals was small; the silver medals with one goldfish on the reverse were probably struck a little later than the original brass medals, with unknown mintage, using several sets of dies; and the "leaf missing with stem connecting the tail" variety may be the result of the die worker adding a line (stem) to the "leaf missing with no stem connecting the tail" variety, to make it look better. 

8.       (This is an answer to my question about badon's remarks on the cartwheel effect on the silver plated set.) The brightness and smoothness of the mirror field vary on many coins and medals, mostly caused by worn dies or different manual polishing. Many factors can lead to radiating striations and halo effects due to uneven surface on the coins/medals, such as: the physical properties of the material used, high/low striking pressure, precision of die mounting, uniformity of striking pressure, precision of die polishing, the relief and field on the dies. The mints have been striving to improve the quality of the surface on large silver coins, to reduce radiating striations and edge burrs. Recent internal documents from Shanghai Mint touched on these topics. I wrote specifically on the issues of radiating striations on silver coins. 

9.       Shanghai Mint has precedents of "brass before silver". Brass medals were struck first, and then the same dies or replicated dies were used to strike commemorative medals with precious metals, for example: 60 mm God of Longevity, 60 mm Great Wall, various small lunar medals, and the 80 mm God of Longevity from Shenyang Mint. The reason to use brass first was probably to test the market with cheap material, to avoid the risk of precious metal products with poor sales. Restrikes are usually classical and distinctive products from the mints, with no specific timing to commemorate a person or an event. 

10.   It requires a comprehensive view to determine the sequence of strikes of coins and medals. In addition to the coins and medals themselves, original packaging, boxes, COA, promotion booklets from the mints, internal documents and similar coins/medals have to be taken into consideration. The more information gathered, the closer the judgment. For example, after obtaining precise information, it was found out that some large size kilo gold and silver coins were struck by Shenzhen Guobao Mint using dies from Shanghai or Shenyang Mint for gold and silver coins released years ago.

Without access to internal documents at the mints, the ocean of coins and medals can only be explored by collectors through tireless efforts.

Forerunners of Sports Coins and Olympics Coins from the PRC

By Huang Ruiyong
http://bbs.jibi.net/dispbbs.asp?boardid=91&Id=51803&page=3
Posted on August 16, 2006

Good evening everyone. My lectures have been warmly received by you all since they started. I am absolutely grateful. The series, in my humble opinion, is designed to tell the stories behind each exquisite coin. By and by, they will provide spiritual joy to collectors. Today I am going to talk about a recent hot topic in the coin community – Olympics.

But I will not discuss the upcoming Beijing Olympics coins. Instead, I will elaborate on the forerunners of sports coins and Olympics coins from our country – the 1980 coins to commemorate the Chinese Olympic Committee and Winter Olympics. Many collectors may have passed these two sets of coins, but there is a lot to be learned about them. They were issued separately in February, 1980 (Winter Olympics) and June, 1980 (Chinese Olympics Committee). Each set consists of gold, silver and brass coins, in normal thickness and double thickness. Of course they have patterns among themselves, which are top rarities. Let's examine them closely, focusing on gold coins first.

The gold sets have rich characteristics:

1.    They were the earliest sports coins from our country;

2.    They were the earliest Olympics coins from our country;

3.    They were the earliest coins with no country name "People's Republic of China" on it. The text "Chinese Olympics Committee" was used on the obverse in place of the country name.

4.    They all had unusual denominations. The Alpine Skiing coin had a denomination of 250 Yuan, matched only by the 8 gram Rooster. The 300 Yuan denomination on Archery was the only one among gold coins, although silver coins with the 300 Yuan denomination are commonplace (for example 1 kilo lunars, 1 kilo pandas and the 1 kilo Soccer).

5.    Winter Olympics and the 8 gram Rooster tie for the first place among all the gold coins for the denomination/weight ratio. They are both 8 grams, equal to 1/4 OZ, with a denomination of 250 Yuan. After conversion, the value is 1,000 Yuan per ounce, which was pretty high.

6.    The Winter Olympics coins are worth mentioning because they bear the five-ring Olympics logo on both sides. This may be the only use case among all the Olympics coins in the world. It is well known that the five-ring Olympics logo belongs exclusively to the International Olympics Committee, without whose permission, the logo cannot be used at will. But we did. As we were not bound by international laws in those years, we just made use of the logo without much thinking. What could anyone do about it? The same error occurred on the Sword Dancer gold coin from 1988. After that, China showed respect for intellectual property rights and stopped making such mistakes. So in the strict sense, both the Chinese Olympics Committee and Winter Olympics coins are error coins with improper content.

We all know that the piedfort gold coins in these two sets are rarities, but even the thin gold coins are outstanding, too. They were not born at the right moment. Many were melted due to the rapid rise of international gold price. So few thin versions survived in the pristine condition. Their original actual mintages were:

Winter Olympics: 10,143, from Shenyang Mint

Chinese Olympic Committee: 15,019, from Shanghai Mint

So much for the gold coins. Let's turn to the silver coins.

Oh my God, the silver coins even dwarfed the gold coins, because these two silver sets have four patterns between them. Their rarity is beyond description. In the Winter Olympics set, only the woman Speed Skater has a thin version. Thin versions of the other three coins were never officially released. This is reversed in the Chinese Olympics Committee set: only Archery does not have a thin version; thin versions of the other three were officially released.

The distributor of these two sets of coins was International Coins & Currency Inc., often called ICC. As a dealer with 40 years of experience in gold and silver coins described, who was close to ICC, ICC only sold complete piedfort sets (gold, silver and brass) of the Winter Olympics and Chinese Olympics Committee, complete thin sets as well as some odd coins. Jin Weiwei, a veteran dealer at the Lugong Market, had a complete piedfort set not long ago. The imitation mahogany box lined with blue velvet was very eye-catching. But this set disappeared recently. My hearty congratulations to whoever snatched the set.

The thin version of the complete silver set has only four coins: Speed Skater, Ancient Soccer, Ancient Wrestling, and Ancient Equestrian. Why the other four thin version coins were held from release is a topic we want to keep exploring in days to come. Patterns in these two silver sets are absolutely top rarities.

But even the piedfort silver coins are hard to come by. 2,000 sets were struck for the Winter Olympics piedfort silver coins. As for the Chinese Olympics Committee piedfort silver coins, it is said that only 500 sets were struck. Piedfort silver coins in these two sets in perfect conditions are very rare. Why so?

Coins minted by our country in those years were top quality, but the plastic capsules were poorly made. As they did not fit tightly, the coins often dropped out. Some quick people would pick them up with their bare hands, leaving their fingerprints on the coins.

Fingerprints are easy to remove on gold coins with gold cleaners, but cleaning silver coins requires skills. Toning might be damaged if the coin is handled without ultimate care. Silver coins without luster are not appealing to the eye, like a girl's face without the radiance of youth.

I have seen quite a few Winter Olympics and Chinese Olympics Committee piedfort silver coins with toning completely removed, like a human face rubbed with sandpaper for a extended period of time. I just couldn't bear the sight. So when it comes to buying the Winter Olympics and Chinese Olympics Committee piedfort silver coins, to quote a cliché, "Condition, condition and condition".

For the Winter Olympics and Chinese Olympics Committee sets, the little brass brethren are as shiny as the gorgeous gold and silver coins. New China did not produce many proof brass coins in the early days. Besides the 4 Winter Olympics and 4 Chinese Olympics Committee brass coins, the remaining ones include the 1982 brass Soccer, and the 1983-1985 brass pandas. It does not cost a leg to collect them all (the 1985 brass panda would cost both legs now – translator), but they nevertheless come with a sense of success.

A special note： the Winter Olympics and Chinese Olympics Committee piedfort brass coins are the only two sets of piedfort brass coins up to this day. Their significance can never be exaggerated. 1,000 sets were struck for the Winter Olympics piedfort brass coins (based on Shen Jiaju's catalog), and 2,500 sets were struck for the Chinese Olympics Committee piedfort brass coins. It is extremely difficult to find them in pristine condition with splendid luster.

The Winter Olympics and Chinese Olympics Committee sets caught the attention of the world with their unique styles. I have in my collection promotion booklets for these two sets from many years ago. The text was all intriguing. A comment on the Archery gold coin is quoted below:

"Archery, one of the most striking Olympics gold coins in history."

European and American collectors saw it as one of the most unique gold coins in the world, with great admiration. Before Archery, the most unique Olympics commemorative coin was the 1952 Finnish silver coin, with a mintage of 18,500.

Now I have an interesting story for you all. Mr. King Chan in Hong Kong is the number one collector of modern Chinese precious metal coins. His collection is hugely extensive. Before the catalog "Currencies from the People's Republic of China" was published by the Finance Publishing House, facts had to be checked against his collection in his residence. The first coin in his modern Chinese gold coin collection was a Winter Olympics gold coin. It was priced at 2,750 Hong Kong dollars in 1980. It was a very valuable coin sold through Wing Hang Bank. Lo and behold, the current price is lower than its original price, indicating that the price of old coins has not been discovered.

I forgot to highlight the Chinese Olympics Committee piedfort silver coins. Why do they deserve special attention? Well, the Winter Olympics silver coins have the same diameter 33 mm. They do not look unusual with extra thickness. But the Chinese Olympics Committee silver coins are a different story. The Archery coin has a diameter of 23 mm, while the diameter of the Wrestling coin is 28 mm. After thickening, Archery weighs 20 grams, the same weight as Wrestling. No wonder Archery looks very thick, like a small silver cylinder, very cool. Of course, the rejection rate in producing such coins was very high.

Let's remember the names of the following designers.

Winter Olympics Committee:

Obverse: Zhong Youqin
Reverse: Shen Xianzhang, Song Wenyuan, Wang Fude, Li Xiaochuan

Chinese Olympics Committee:

Obverse: Zhong Youqin
Reverse: Tong Youming, Chen Jian, Luo Yonghui, Luo Xingsha, Sun Qiling

These are all masters, representing the highest standards in the design and engraving of precious metal coins in China.

Now let's look at the packaging and COAs of the Winter Olympics and Chinese Olympics Committee coins. In addition to the packaging of the complete piedfort set I mentioned above, typical packaging includes the following:

1.    The Archery gold coin is packed with three Chinese Olympics Committee silver coins in a blue square plastic box, lined with blue velvet. Very beautiful.

2.    A set of three Chinese Olympics Committee silver coins are packed in a long blue hard box, also lined with blue velvet.

3.    A small blue box like a jewelry box (for America), with plush on the outside and velvet lining, used for the Archery gold coin or the Alpine Skiing gold coin. Very exquisite!

4.    Red hard plastic box (for Germany) as shown by Youxia, for single Archery or Alpine Skiing gold coins.

COA:

1.    A small COA for the Archery gold coin and the Chinese Olympics Committee silver coins was issued by the People's Bank of China, with the national emblem stamped in gold or silver. Very elegant. But there is a small error in the COA for the silver coins. All the denominations of the silver coins were printed as 1 Yuan. The error was later discovered and corrected manually.

2.    Colored COA for the Winter Olympics and Chinese Olympics Committee coins, with "Commemorative Coins for the Chinese Olympics Committee" and "Commemorative Coins for the Thirteenth Winter Olympics" on the front, and the signature of Yang Binchao, General Manager of China Mint Company, on the back. This COA is very big.

3.    A small yellow English COA for Alpine Skiing, noting ICC as the distributor.

4.    A small yellow German COA for Alpine Skiing. The Chinese characters are not in fonts for printing, but in the handwritten form.

Do not overlook the brass coins in these two sets. Now brass coins in perfect conditions are still available at low cost. They will be hard to come by in the future.

These two sets of coins are outstanding from the design perspective. The Winter Olympics coins have a big snow flake as the background on the reverse, perfectly combining the glossy mirror field and the crystal clear ice and snow. On the other hand, the Chinese Olympics Committee coins were designed in the artistic style of stone reliefs from the Han Dynasty, highlighting the national character and leaving an everlasting impression on viewers. Even now these two sets are highly enjoyable.

A well made old coin is like a bottle of nice wine stored in the cellar. The taster needs to know it, understanding the story embodied in it. Then with the cork popping open, the room is filled with its aroma. After all, it is not the wine that intoxicates but the drinker who gets himself drunk.

Let's rank these two sets.

Top rarities
Four patterns: thin versions of the silver coins of Archery, Figure Skating, Alpine Skiing and Biathlon

Four stars and a half
Alpine Skiing and Archery piedfort gold coins

Four stars
Winter Olympics and Chinese Olympics Committee piedfort silver coins

Two stars
Thin version of the Archery and Alpine Skiing gold coins

One star
Thin version of the Speed Skater, Wrestling, Soccer and Equestrian silver coins

Summary of the Comparative Study on the Terracotta Warrior Coins in the Historical Figures Set

This post is a summary of the comparative study by Quanmo Yishanren on the pattern coins  from the first set of the Historical Figures series. The original post is rather long and deviating. I am picking out the essential points from his post at http://bbs.bqcoin.com/read-htm-tid-3378-page-1.html.

In 1984, Shanghai Mint issued a brass medal celebrating the 30^th anniversary of the new Shanghai Mint after PRC was founded. (Shanghai Mint itself has a much longer history.) This is the brass medal:

 This medal is interesting because it has the image of the Shanghai Mint building on one side, and the images of several coins on the other. The coin side reveals three pattern coins: a pattern for the Decade of Women gold coin, a pattern for one of the 30^th Anniversary of the PRC gold coins, and a pattern for the Soldier Kneeling silver coin. The Decade of Women gold pattern was leaked to the market, sold by a coin store under the China Gold Coins Inc. The 30^th Anniversary gold pattern was very close to the one later released, with difference only in denomination (300 Yuan vs. 400 Yuan). What Quanmo Yishanren focuses on is the pattern for the Soldier Kneeling. It is vastly different from the coin actually released: 1. The fonts of the characters are different. The characters "Soldier Kneeling" are arranged in an arc on the upper left side on the pattern, while they are horizontal on the upper right side on the released coin; 2. The characters "Three Hundred Years B. C." on the pattern coin use a similar font as found on the released coin, but they are in different positions. On the pattern, the characters are on the upper right corner, in an arc, while they are horizontally arranged below the characters "Soldier Kneeling" on the released coin; 3. The denominations are different. It is 20 Yuan on the pattern coin, on the right middle section of the coin, while it is 5 Yuan on the released coin, in the lower right corner.

 Quanmo Yishanren has the following questions about the Soldier Kneeling pattern: How come the image of this pattern got onto the medal? Why the differences between the pattern and the released coin? Does the pattern still exist today? Where is it?

Quanmo Yishanren then digresses to the pattern of the gold coin in this set, Qinshihuang. It is the only available pattern from the Historical Figure series, now in the collection of the Hong Kong collector King Chan. The image on the right in the picture below is the released coin. The other images are those of the pattern:

While the silver coins were designed and engraved at Shanghai Mint, the gold coin was designed and engraved by Wang Fude at Shenyang Mint. The design of the Qinshihuang pattern was very different from that of the released coin: 1. The pattern shows the full body of Qinshihuang, with his crown tiling up. The released coin shows only his upper body, with his crown tilting down. 2. The obverse of the pattern shows the year "1983" and the characters "Qinshihuang's Terracotta Warriors from China" in the Qinzhuan font, with the image of the Great Wall in the background, separated into two sections. On the other hand, the obverse of the issued coin has the name of the country, the national emblem and the year "1984", which are standard design elements. 3. On the reverse of the pattern coin are the image of Soldier with a Horse, the 100 Yuan denomination, the characters "Soldier with a Horse" in the Weibei font and the characters "3^rd Century B. C.", while the reverse of the released coin has the image of Qinshihuang, the denomination of 100 Yuan, the characters "Qinshihuang" in the Qinzhuan font, and the characters "Years 259-210 B. C." in the Kaishu font.

Quanmo Yishanren then proceeds to compare the pattern of Qinshihuang, the brass medal of the 30^th Anniversary of Shanghai Mint and the silver coins of the terracotta warriors. 

He believes that through logical inference, the following questions can be asked: 1. Now that Soldier with a Horse is on the reverse of the Qinshihuang pattern, it is very unlikely that the same design would be used on a silver coin. What would the design on that coin be? 2. The Qinshihuang pattern has the year "1983" on it. Accordingly, the year on the Soldier Kneeling silver pattern should be the same. Where would it be positioned? 3. We only see the design on the reverse of the Soldier Kneeling. Based on the designs on the Qinshihuang pattern, Quanmo Yishanren believes that the design on the obverse of the Soldier Kneeling would be different from that on the officially released coin. These questions need to be investigated.

Quanmo Yishanren then contacted the designers and engravers of the coins and the brass medal. Unfortunately, they had not even noticed the facts, especially the patterns on the brass medal. They had very vague memory of what happened so long ago. What can be concluded are:

1.       The images of the coins on the brass medal were based on original dies from the die room, although reduced in size. The three patterns were minted for the release of the coins. The released coins are different from these patterns for review because of the input from the distributor or China Mint Company. 

2.       The patterns were all actually minted, but in a very small number. They were primarily submitted to China Mint Company and the overseas sponsor of the project. Under the chaotic management system of that time, patterns submitted were rarely recovered. The recipients of patterns would pay for them. That is to say, these patterns actually became commodities. Those patterns retained within the mint were melted under supervision.  

3.       After so many years, any such pattern would be a highly valuable top gem if it shows up. It may be the only specimen available. Even if such patterns happen to turn up in a managed way, they are still extremely rare, well worth collecting and researching. 

4.       Because of the specific historical theme, the Qinshihuang and Soldier Kneeling patterns are outstanding even among pattern coins. 

5.       The fact that images of pattern coins appeared on the brass medal was due to negligence. This will not happen again as patterns are under strict management now.

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)