Tuesday, December 16, 2014

The Journey of the Chinese Classical Garden Series of Medals

By Lei Ting
(This article was written by Lei Ting, who is one of the organizers of the Chinese Classical Garden series of medals. Pictures of Yuanmingyuan and Lan Ting are provided in the article.)

1.   Yuyuan

Before the end of 2012, I ran across a PF69 Yuyuan silver medal on eBay. I was awed by the exquisite design and detailed engraving of the pavilion and hall on it. Its piedfort 2 oz size intrigued coin collectors like me with its weighty feeling in hands. I became strongly interested in the medal. However, searching through books and reference data yielded no information on its background. The only fact known was that it was released by Shanghai Mint. I went to Shanghai Mint with Mr. Cai Xiaoping several times to investigate. Answers were finally found in the thick, dust covered dossier in the Document Room of Shanghai Mint. It turned out that the Yuyuan medal was a piece designed and engraved during 2001-2002 by Mr. Yu Min, the winner of Best Crown Coin Award by Krause, when Shanghai Mint experimented with high relief small size coins and medals. A few patterns were made for collecting metrics and data. Afterwards, the patterns were destroyed, and the dies locked up with no further follow-up actions. Fast-forward to 2009. To celebrate the Shanghai Expo, the Mint recalled this piece of delicate artwork which is representative of China as well as local Shanghai characteristics. This led to the release of the Yuyuan medal, with a mintage of 2,010 pieces.

2.Lan Ting

By the end of 2012, as the collector group of Yuyuan silver medal steadily grew and met to talk about it, we became more and more fascinated by this little gem. Quite a few coin collectors liked this series of Chinese Classical Gardens. We all expected it to continue, and so searched everywhere for news about its new release. The only feedback, which was not unlike hearsay, was that there was a plan to issue a second medal Shenyuan, but the plan was subsequently scratched. We all felt betrayed, which led to a crazy idea: we would all go and seek out our mint contacts, and see whether we could commission the Mint with more medals for the series.

As luck would have it, we discovered by accident a Lan Ting ink stone, said to have been engraved in mid Qing Dynasty. The poetic ambience of floating wine cups along a winding stream on the ink stone overwhelmed everyone. ("Floating wine cups along a winding stream" was an ancient festival, when scholars would sit on the bank of the stream, waiting for wine cups to pass. If the wine cup stopped in front of a scholar, he was obliged to compose a poem on the spot and drink the wine from the cup.) We decided to use the ink stone image as the design template and launched the project.

Oh all the twists and turns! First, the Classical Garden series was officially launched by Shanghai Mint. It was their own product. The system ruled out the possibility for individuals or organizations to take it over. It required a rigid system of expert review and approvals through the hierarchy. Despite our efforts made on multiple fronts, the cold reality was more than chilling. Our enthusiasm in the initial stage was again doused – we had even organized a Chinese Classical Garden silver medal development team (group), to work on research related to the Classical Garden series. We were not to give up, though. We decided to accomplish the impossible with our heart. Multiple trips were made to Shanghai Mint, to communicate with the designers, and to express to the leadership our fervent love for the series. After long and repeated communication which went on for almost half a year, our sincerity broke the ice. Maestro Yu Min willingly accepted the job to design and engrave the second medal in the series, Lan Ting. The leadership of Shanghai Mint also made an exception. Rules and regulations must be followed, but the distribution of the medal could be negotiated. This turned on the green light for the continued releases of the series.

Once minting started, disturbing news poured in. Because the surface of Lan Ting swells up like a bun, stress fell on the rim. But with the uneven surface, dies cracked easily during striking. Four sets of steel dies cracked for striking the first batch of 170 pieces. What was worse, around 110 of them were held by the QA team from being released, as they did not meet the Mint's standards. The striking issue got so bad that the operators were too scared to start the coin press. All the stakeholders converged on the scene: the Mint leadership team, the General Production Planner and the Director of the Die Division got together in the production facility in an effort to find a solution to the problem. This technical tough challenge weighed on everyone's mind in the sweltering summer.

The technical expertise of Shanghai Mint enriched over nearly 100 years, as well as the collective wisdom of the professionals, finally proved itself to our admiration. After 7 sets of cracked dies, the Lan Ting silver medal emerged perfectly with performing and multiple strikes in the fall of 2013, thanks to the efforts put in by everyone involved.

The planned mintage of Lan Ting was 2,000, but the actual mintage was 1,500.

I would like to mention specifically the antique finish Lan Ting. Controversy came up during the planning state in the Classical Garden QQ group, for several reasons. First, the Yuyuan medal did not have this finish. So it was inconsistent. Second, the blackish color would not look good. Someone even PSed a black picture of the Lan Ting medal and presented it to the group. It was very unsightly. At the suggestion of Professor Huang Ruiyong, we decided to mint only 200 pieces as a trial. It turned out to be the biggest hit when the medals were delivered. On the release day, bids were offered for the antique finish version at twice the release price. It was the undisputed star of all the Lan Ting medals. Now it has totally disappeared from the market, and became a favorite among many.

Silver Lan Ting



3. Summer Palace

By the end of 2013, the third medal in the series was being planned, for the Summer Palace, the top garden of the four Famous Gardens. (The others are Liuyuan and the Garden of Humble Administrator in Suzhou, and the Imperial Summer Resort in Chengde – translator.) Dazhou, a QQ group member, brought up an idea: recreation based on the painting of "Festival Summer Palace" by Mr. Zhang Yuqing from the 1970s. This proposal was turned down by the designers because of copyright consideration. However, it led their thoughts to a new direction. They followed Mr. Zhang's footsteps to the Summer Palace for onsite observations. Repeated musing and sketches were tempted from his perspective. Finally a bold presentation of the panorama condensed the overwhelming landscape on the surface of a 40 mm medal. It is unprecedented as such.

The design of the other side also took a dramatic turn. At first we all agreed to using a lacquer plate with gold-painted design of the Xiequyuan in the Summer Palace, which was bought from Japan at a high price by a group member Zhao Yong, as the inspiration for redesign and engraving. Consensus was reached after repeated discussions and even heated arguments between the QQ group members and the designers, while referring to the double-sided deep dish design of a silver coin from Perth Mint of Australia. This led to the introduction of the first double-sided deep dish medal in China. (As an aside, when the design of the Summer Palace medal was under way, the China Gold Coins Incorporation under the People's Bank of China was calling for bids on the 2014 China's Buddhist Sanctuary – Ermei 2 oz silver coin. Shanghai Mint took the idea of a deep dish design from our Summer Palace medal, and presented a single side deep dish coin design, which came out on top in the fierce competition with Shenyang Mint and Shenzhen Guobao Mint because it appealed to the many experts on the review committee. Afterwards, Shanghai Mint staff expressed thanks to our design and development team. We were especially pleased to be able to contribute to coin making technologies of our country with our collective wisdom.)

When the design of the Summer Palace commemorative medal was submitted to Shanghai Mint, approved and even engraved, a dramatic turn took place. The QQ group members found a better and more representative landscape of the Summer Palace, the Long Corridor. The original design was replaced, and the new design had to be submitted for approval. But the hard work of the designers on the original design was not to be wasted, and the system of the national mint had to be followed. After repeated discussions with the Mint, they agreed at the beginning of 2014 to provide the original design Xiequyuan as an extra bonus to the QQ group members, to our pleasant surprise, along with the Summer Palace – Long Corridor. The Summer Palace medal now has two varieties. The reverse is the panorama view of the Summer Palace. The obverse is 1. Long Corridor; 2. Xiequyuan. (The Xiequyuan variety came into existence just by accident. Maybe it should be excluded from the series, because this process cannot be replicated. Of course its price is sky high, too.)

4. Yuanmingyuan

Time flies. Yuanmingyuan, the "garden of all gardens", quickly moved onto the radar screen of the development team. It had a glorious past. Therefore it became the top priority of the Classical Garden series. But today all that was left of the garden are just ruins. How can the past glory be represented? This thought weighed on our mind as well as on the mind of the three most outstanding designers of Shanghai Mint. After collective brainstorming, it was finally decided to draw inspirations from the painting Forty Scenes of Yuanmingyuan by the imperial painters of Emperor Qianlong – Tang Dai, Shen Yuan and Leng Mei, as well as the copperplate European Palace in Yuanmingyuan by Giuseppe Castiglione. Combined with designs drawn from onsite observations by the designers, a grandiose medal was finally accomplished with Chinese style landscape and the Hall of National Peace on the obverse, and the ruins of the Water Wonder on the reverse.

As the obverse of this medal is extremely detailed, Ms. Zhang Chunyue, director of the design and engraving team at Shanghai Mint, took up the engraving work herself. The reverse was shaped by the knives of Ms. Dong Huizhen, a top coin designer/engraver. The clay models took as long as 4 months to complete. After the clay models were replicated to plaster models, it would take one to two weeks of detailing before they could be placed on the reducer to be reduced to master hubs. At that critical moment, Ms. Zhang was diagnosed with some serious illness. Before she was hospitalized, she asked Ms. Dong time and again to perfect the models for her. The Yuanmingyuan medal was not only designed with their heart and soul, but also a summary and reflection of Ms. Zhang Chunye's many years of work.

After many twists and turns, the Yuanmingyuan medal, with the highest relief never seen on Chinese small size coins and medals, was finally released at the end of 2014. The ultra high relief on the ruins side had posed enormous difficulty for its production. The production management team and the coin press room staff organized trial productions which lasted 2 months. After trying out planchet performing, multiple (3-4 times) strikes, lathing twice to round the edge, double annealing, multiple cracked sets of working dies, multiple times of manual work, edging lettering and rhodium plating to prevent oxidation, the production was finally completed with success. Afterwards, the production team at Shanghai Mint confided that the work order was carried out regardless of cost or manpower, for the purpose of testing different new technologies and meeting the challenges. The difficulty and cost of producing this medal was absolutely beyond imagination.

Silver Yuanmingyuan

Brass Yuanmingyuan



5. Imperial Summer Resort (to be continued)





































Here is some more information provided by Lei Ting on the Chinese Classical Garden series.

1. Chinese Classical Garden I – Hill Admiring Hall in the Yuyuan Garden
(Yuyuan in Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Garden)
The first ultra high relief silver medal minted by Shanghai Mint
Released by: Shanghai Mint
Year of release: 2010
Designer and engraver: Yu Min

Description: The Yuyuan Garden is one of the "Four Top National Cultural Markets." It is the only Ming Dynasty style garden in Shanghai, located in the Yuyuan Tourist Plaza, bordering the Town's God Temple. It is considered to be the best among the five top gardens in the lower Yangtze River Valley area. It embodies the Ming and Qing Dynasty classical garden style of condensing a large perspective into a limited space, characterized by architectural structures of complementing the realistic with the impressionistic, contrasting the big with the small, and alternating density with sparsity. The garden is a cultural site under special protection of the government, as well as a national 4A tourist site.

2. Chinese Classical Garden II – Lan Ting (Orchid Pavilion)
(Lan Ting in Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchid_Pavilion_Gathering)
Released by: Shanghai Mint
Year of release: 2013
Designer and engraver: Yu Min

Description: The obverse of the medal features the architecture of the Chinese classical garden, with the inscription "Charming beyond Description" by Liu Shutang, the Governor of Zhejiang in the Qing Dynasty. In the middle are paragraphs from the Preface to the Lan Ting Poem Collection written by Wang Xizhi. The reverse design imitates the ancient scene of floating wine cups along a winding stream around Lan Ting, engraved with the characters 曲水流觞 (floating wine cups along a winding stream) in the form of a seal by the reputed modern calligrapher Lei Yu, and the characters 兰亭 (Lan Ting - Orchid Pavilion) written by Emperor Kang Xi.

3. Chinese Classical Garden III – Summer Palace/Corridor, Summer Palace/Xiequyuan
(Summer Palace in Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_Palace)
Released by: Shanghai Mint
Year of release: 2014
Designers and engravers: Zhang Chunye, Dong Huizhen, Zhao Qiang (Rocky Zhao)

Description: It was the first time that the minting technology of double-side deep dish with high relief had ever been used on Chinese coins/medals. Summer Palace/Corridor has the long corridor in the Summer Palace on the obverse, and a panorama view of the Summer Palace on the reverse. Summer Palace/Xiequyuan has the landscape of Xuequyuan on the obverse and a panorama view of the Summer Palace on the reverse.

4. Chinese Classical Garden IV – Yuanmingyuan (Old Summer Palace)
(Yuanmingyuan in Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Summer_Palace)
Released by: Shanghai Mint
Year of release: 2014
Designers and engravers: Zhang Chunye, Dong Huizhen, Zhao Qiang (Rocky Zhao)

Description: Yuanmingyuan in the Chinese Classical Garden series is not unlike "only after our repeated calls did she appear" (line from an ancient poem - translator). The medal is simply fabulous, with ultra high relief on a 40 mm surface. It is highly collectible.

The Yuanmingyuan medal can be characterized as "wonderful scenery with 12 lunar animals; western copperplate enhanced by Chinese fine brushwork; garden of all gardens, living only in memory."

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Why Medals?

Ever since I argued with badon on the Chinese Coin Forum and Live Business Chat about the differences between coins and medals, I myself have gradually gravitated towards medals, including brass ones. I received some inquiries on my shift of attitude and position. Instead of answering individually, I hope this post can shed some light on my current understanding of medals vs. coins. Comments are welcome.

Unlike badon, who denies any difference between fiat coins and non-fiat medals, I do see a difference between them. So I still call a coin a coin, and a medal a medal. But (and this is a big "but"), in terms of the precious metal coins issued by PRC after 1979 (MCC), the difference is minimal and nominal. MCCs were never issued for circulation. Instead, they have been produced as "artwork for collection" (from Mr. Zhu Dechun, regarded as father of MCC). In that sense, they are not very different from medals made for the same purpose. (One of the mistakes in MCC collection is to compare MCCs to precious metal coins issued for circulation in the US. This mistake led to many false analogies between the two, in terms of mintage, grade rarity, and predictions of price trends, among others. I really want to emphasize that these two are fundamentally different, as one was meant for circulation, and the other mainly artwork for collection. If anything, MCCs should be compared to the little known precious metal commemorative coins in the US, which were first released in 1892 and the collection of which has not been very popular.)

The main arguments against medal collection include 1) medals are not officially protected and can be counterfeited without punishment; 2) medals lag behind coins in price appreciation. Let's examine these arguments one by one.

First, coins, whether circulating ones or MCCs, are not immune to counterfeiting. Even newly issued circulating commemorative coins with a street value of 15 Yuan ($2.5) are faked. Fake coins are sold on the Chinese Taobao site with no sign of pending official punishment. Punishment for coin counterfeiting has largely remained as a theoretical deterrent, but has so far failed to be effectively implemented. The reason may be that commemorative coins, whether of base metal or of previous metal, are not in circulation and so their faking poses no threat to the financial system, while counterfeiting of large face value paper notes is treated seriously, as the latter are real medium of exchange in life. Whatever the reason, it is a cold fact that MCCs have not been better protected than medals against counterfeiting.

If we look beyond modern Chinese coins and medals, we will see that counterfeiting has not stopped people from collecting/investing in the pre-1949 coins. Coins made from all types of metal, copper, silver and gold, between the time when milled coins were first introduced to China in the late 19th century, up to 1949, are counterfeited recklessly as there is virtually no protection for them. Dies to make Fat Man coins are openly available on Taobao. Cheap fakes flood the market, including eBay. And yet, due to the pioneering work of early collectors, foreigners included, collection of "old silver round" as they are known in China has been the most popular and advanced numismatic category among Chinese coin collection, with detailed studies of their varieties and huge price gaps between high grade coins – phenomena observable in US coin collection. It was no coincidence that the "old silver round" was the first numismatic category to embrace coin grading in China. With the help of grading companies, the risk of running into fake coins is greatly reduced if not totally eliminated, as long as one insists on buying graded specimens.

Second, it is true that many medals have not appreciated in value as fast as coins. I used the example of the Xinjiang silver coin vs. medal in my argument against medals when I first brought up the issue with badon. This is due to the smaller number of medal collectors in the past. "Medals are lesser than coins", a motto among some Chinese collectors, becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. Because medals are regarded as having less investment value, fewer collect them, which in turn reduces the demand and drags down the price. However, even with the small number of collectors, the top rarities among medals have not lost to coins in the same ranking in price appreciation. Here is a comparison of top silver coins and medals in a fixed time frame. They are priced in the Chinese Yuan.

  
 (I am comparing top small size silver coins with top medals because I do not keep track of prices of large size coins. Those familiar with large size coins can do a similar comparison. Large size silver coins are not in my range of collection.)

It is obvious that in terms of price appreciation, top silver medals have outrun top small size silver coins. The Jianzhen silver medal set has an even higher rate - close to 40x price growth since December, 2007. Of course, not all the medals appreciate as rapidly. The 1987 Long Beach Expo silver medal, which sold 100 Yuan more than the Jianzhen set at the same auction run by the Oriental Auction House in 2007, has appreciated only slightly in price. Rarity plays a crucial role in price appreciation among medals due to the smaller collector base. The sharp contrast in price appreciation between the top medals and more common ones reveals the profile of current medal collectors: a small number of advanced, well-to-do individuals who collect both coins and medals alike and are relentlessly in pursuit of the rarest medals.

In addition to past price appreciation, we should bear in mind the possibility that the self-fulfilling prophesy "medals are lesser than coins" may be abandoned by new MCC collectors, thus pushing the price of the currently undervalued medals way up. Collectors of the recent Chinese Classical Garden series medals are mostly MCC collectors, too. Is it a sign that the trend is starting to turn?

Finally, as artwork, officially minted medals tend to stand out over coins. Coins are strictly controlled in their theme, design, artistic style, technology and time to market. Low relief is typically required on coins made in large quantity, for example. In comparison, the same mint artists designing medals have a lot more freedom to themselves. Zeng Chenghu spent over a year (on and off) working on his hand-engraved Pagodas, and Bai Wenjun spent nearly a year on his hand-engraved medal set Plum, Orchid, Bamboo and Chrysanthemum. The recently released Chinese Classical Gardens series employed techniques unparalleled in coins, such as double-sided deep dish and ultra-high relief. Some of the most artistically sophisticated artwork exists only in the form of copper medals, such as the hand-engraved Guilin Scenery set. Of course there are exquisitely made MCCs (the first series of lunars, for example) and poorly made medals, especially those commissioned by organizations or individuals. But overall the consensus is that medals are artistically more appealing.

Enjoying wonderful artwork, nice price appreciation, the vanity of owning and bragging about top rarities, with the possibility of a huge price breakout in the future – what can be a more fulfilling experience in numismatic collection and investment?



Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Dandan's Comments on Chinese Coins (7) - 5 oz Rectangular Silver Tiger


http://club.pchome.net/thread_1_15_6648665_17__.html
Today I am going to write about 5 oz coins. Someone said that I liked large silver coins. It is true, mainly because the recently released small silver coins have a huge mintage, expanding with no limits. On the other hand, large gold coins are much too expensive, not good for common collectors. The coin I am going to discuss today was released 2 years ago, the rectangular silver Tiger.

As usual, let me talk briefly about the background of the coin. The 5 oz rectangular silver Tiger was released in 2009, with 2010 on the reverse of the coin. Like all the precious metal lunar coins, it was released at the end of the previous year, with a crouching tiger on the design. Honestly, my first reaction was this tiger was so lifeless, not awe-inspiring at all. It is much too bland in design and craftsmanship, mostly because this tiger is not spirited. The mintage of this coin was 1,888, very small. Yet starting from 2000, when the 5 oz rectangular silver coin was first released, this series has not seen much growth in value. Many distributors have few in their inventory. There are three main reasons. First, before the 5 oz rectangular silver coins, 5 oz round-shaped silver coins had been marketed, with a mintage of around 1,000. (The mintage of the round silver coins varied depending on the year.) The price of those round coins also remained tepid. Secondly, the 5 oz rectangular silver coins  back flew from overseas, as they are mostly released to the Hong Kong market. The inventory is really low among distributors inside China. As such, speculation is not easy. Lastly, we all know that many coins released in 2000 had a low price, because the market was in a deep freeze then. Only a handful of true collectors carried on with collection of these coins. Where were those speculators at that time? Considering all these three factors, the 5 oz rectangular series has remained tepid since its initial release in 2000, as a largely overlooked category. Things started to change after 2009. The three reasons for change can also be summarized as follows. First, the mintage. This point is beyond any dispute. The 1,888 mintage may appear unsurprising among the early precious metal coins, but today, especially after the steady increase of the mintage in recent years, the mintage of 1,888 is tiny. Secondly, after 10 years, the whole 5 oz rectangular silver coin series is drawing to a close. With this in mind, many collectors, investors and even speculators have started to pick them up, because for a collector, once he or she started on a series, this series has to be completed. Otherwise it will feel as if there is something missing. Last but not least, the market turned. Unlike the slow market in 2000, which was going down, the coin market at the beginning of 2009 was going to witness the best two years in history. Many types kept breaking records and went through one peak after another in the last two years. In addition, through the powerful and wide-spread reporting and promotion by traditional media like TV and newspapers, and new media like the Internet, more people became aware of this market, with new collectors steadily joining in. This "new blood" has been the major driving force of the expanding market. With these three points, the later growth of the 5 oz rectangular silver Tiger is logical and reasonable. Its release price at the end of 2009 was a few thousand Yuan, but now it is already tens of thousands Yuan, a multiple time increase in just two years. But this coin is still largely ignored, mainly because the 5 oz colored Tiger is more popular, overshadowing it. Also, the mintage of the 5 oz rectangular silver coins is too small. Although the rank of players and collectors of this series grew in recent years, their total number is still unimpressive. This leads to the considerable difference between the buying price and the selling price. The collector has to offer a significant discount when cashing out the coin. This year the China Gold Coins Incorporation went out of their head again, by increasing the mintage of the new round of 5 oz rectangular silver coins to 20,000. I have negative opinion on this move, as the mintage is now too large. 

I have the feeling that the price growth of 5 oz rectangular silver coins in the past couple of years is the result of value return and value realization. Now that value is realized, reaching a high price range, the first series cannot be used as major investment. It can be a major collectible series, though. After all, the first series is miniscule in mintage compared with the second series.  

Collection Index: 10
Investment Index: 7


Thursday, September 25, 2014

Exploring the First Set of Bank Specimens of Modern Chinese Circulating Commemorative Coins

By Sun Jinglong
Published on the November, 2011 issue of Numismatics (in China)
http://www.jibi.net/News/bsjj/8_27_51_158.html

I. A Mystery that Puzzled Fans of Modern Chinese Coins

On September 28, 1984, the then Governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC) Lu Peijian signed a public announcement for issuing commemorative coins for the 35th anniversary of the People's Republic of China (hereafter "35th Anniversary set"), starting on October 1, 1984.

The 35th Anniversary set was the first commemorative coin set issued by PRC. In this light, its importance can never be over-estimated. However, for a long time, coin collectors never saw the bank specimens for the 35th Anniversary set.

Now did PBOC ever mint bank specimens for the 35th Anniversary set?

Many coin collectors in and outside China discussed and explored this common question for a long time. For the all-powerful PBOC and its staffers, this might be a non-issue, or an issue that could be cleared up with one remark. But for private coin collectors who have little access to the information on bank specimens, it was as difficult as ascending to the sky to prove the existence of bank specimens for the first circulating commemorative coins. Doubts by private collectors on whether PBOC ever minted bank specimens for the 35th Anniversary set can be summarized into three questions:

1. Did PBOC ever mint bank specimens for the 35th Anniversary set with the characters 样币 (bank specimen) on them?

2. Are the 35th Anniversary bank specimens similar to the bank specimens of the commemorative coins for the 6th National Games, in that the characters 样币 (bank specimen) were missing from the coin itself, but printed on the package?

Picture 1



3. PBOC did nothing, i.e., the 35th Anniversary commemorative coins did not have bank specimens.
It was the first time to release modern Chinese commemorative coins. What did PBOC do, after all?

II. Belated Arrival: the Bank Specimens of the First Circulating Commemorative Coins Made Their First Appearance

On July 24, a rectangle plastic album showed up on coin001.com, which had the characters 票样 (sample banknote) printed on it. In the album were three coins of the 35th Anniversary commemorative set. The album was blue, with the characters 票样(sample banknote) printed on the cover. The font was big, in a golden color, arranged from left to right.

Picture 2


The three coins in the album, “Dancers”, “Speech” and “Cranes”, had no 样币 (bank specimen) on them. They were enclosed individually in three sealed clear plastic pouches.

Picture 3


The surface of the coins looked dark, but the conditions were superb. The album as a whole appeared aged. Afterwards, I examined the physical album closely, and found some additional details, for example the size and material of the album, which was made from polyethylene, widely used at that time.

Now the album I was staring at, with the characters 票样 (sample banknote) on it, was nothing else but the package with the bank specimens for the first modern Chinese circulating commemorative coins -- the 35th Anniversary!

When I first saw the album with 票样 (sample banknote) on it in the evening of July 24, I was absolutely exhilarated, because I had a glimpse of this album more than ten years ago. In December, 1992, I was transferred from the Public Security Bureau of Nanjing to Nanjing International Trust Co, a non-financial local institution in Nanjing. The Jiangsu Branch of the People’s Bank of China was just across the street from my office. Moreover, one of the directors of the Currency Release Department of the Jiangsu Branch was a senior officer in the Armed Police unit where I had served. As a result, the Jiangsu Branch of PBOC and the Jiangsu Provincial Society for Numismatics became my “secondary office”, till the branches of PBOC at the provincial and city level were replaced by regional branch centers. I would often run over to learn various numismatic news and information. One day in November, 1994, I paid a visit to a friend at the Currency Release Department. He opened a drawer in his desk for me, to show more than twenty boxes and albums, which contained what he called bank specimens. I saw bank specimens for the 40th Anniversary of PBOC, Xinjiang, Women's World Cup, Chinese Arbor Day, the 10th Anniversary of Constitution, Song Qingling, the 11th Asian Games and the “Three Flowers” (the third series of PRC circulating coins – translator). Among them I discovered a blue rectangle album, with 票样 (sample banknote) printed on it. He said that it was also a holder for bank specimens, but it struck me as a holder for coupon stubs in the past planned economy. He said to me, “You can only have a glance.” It was the first time I had faced so many rare and mysterious bank specimens. Although I had less than a minute to see them, it truly triggered my curiosity, which led me to the long journey of exploring bank specimens. I like challenges, though. They are hard to conquer, but they are fulfilling at the same time.

About six or seven years ago, when bank specimens started to be traded on the market and online, I consulted this friend specifically on this issue. He said, “Bank specimens are all registered. They are inventoried for handover, under strict management. None has gone missing in our province. Some organizations with loose management may have bank specimens missing.” In fact, PBOC has been very strict in the management of bank specimens. I know this well by studying PBOC’s rules and regulations on bank specimens. Now I have realized that China is much too big, with an enormous territory and numerous institutions of PBOC, and that the management of commercial banks is riddled with leaks. When people are driven by huge profits, even the best barrier will crack.

Although I did catch a glimpse of the album, the friend at PBOC did not reveal to me what was inside. When the consensus was that the 35th Anniversary commemorative set did not come with bank specimens, it would not be convincing just to argue with a verbal statement without proof. I knew well that the first challenge was to find out whether PBOC minted bank specimens for the 35th Anniversary set at all. After relentless pursuit, I managed to obtain the most authoritative evidence from PBOC.

III. Special PBOC Circular Mentions First Set of Bank Specimens of Circulating Commemorative Coins

From 1999 to 2007, I collected a number of documents on bank specimens of the Chinese Renminbi, among which was one issued by PBOC: “Bank Issued Circular 1996 10 - Notification on Consolidating the Management of Renminbi Sample Banknotes” (picture 4). This is a key piece of direct evidence, because only formal, official, authoritative evidence can be most convincing. After close examination of the documents, I was taken aback: we were so ignorant.

Picture 4


 This document started with “Bank Issued”, which simply means that it was issued in the name of the headquarters of PBOC, signed by its Governor, instead of by the internal departments of the headquarters, direct affiliates or branches. In this document, PBOC appeared totally upset, and ordered a general auditing of the management work of sample banknotes in the whole country. As some organizations haggled over the concepts of “sample banknotes” and “bank specimens”, PBOC clarified the confusion, and sorted out the relation between “sample banknotes” and “bank specimens.”

To start with, PBOC formally notified all the organizations involved that “sample banknotes of Renminbi include bank specimens.” This point was made emphatically, to guide the organizations involved in this consolidation endeavor how to position themselves.

Secondly, PBOC did “distribute” all the sample banknotes (bank specimens) to its branches, commercial banks, insurance companies, customs offices and other organizations. The circular mandated proper management of all the sample banknotes (bank specimens) distributed up to January 8, 1996, when the circular was signed and issued, and stated the scope of distribution and types of sample banknotes (bank specimens) distributed in the past.

Thirdly, the circular required all the organizations to register stolen, damaged and missing sample banknotes (bank specimens) and to report the real cause to PBOC.

Lastly, this circular emphasized that sample banknotes (bank specimens) “distributed over the years” were “physical objects”, among which were the physical bank specimens of the 35th Anniversary set.

An aside: If PBOC had never distributed sample banknotes (bank specimens) to banks, insurance companies, customs offices or public security agencies, this circular by PBOC would be a big joke. The Central Bank of the People’s Republic of China would be acting like a bluffer, creating much ado about nothing. But the reality falsified this hypothesis.

After this “imperial decree” was issued from PBOC, all the local branches of PBOC jumped to action, and circulated this document from PBOC with their own supplemental instructions customized to their own circumstances. The major points made by these supplemental instructions included: “The physical sample banknotes (bank specimens), the receipt for the sample banknotes (bank specimens) and the sample banknotes (bank specimens) register must all match”; “The sample banknotes (bank specimens) distribution list, the receipt of the sample banknotes (bank specimens) and physical objects must be itemized one by one.”

With the discovery of these important PBOC documents, the uncertainty over the bank specimens of the first series of circulating coins was cleared, among other findings:

First, PBOC started to issue the 1 fen, 2 fen and 5 fen coins on December 1, 1957, in the first release of coins by PRC. The document “Bank Issued Circular 1996 10” states that physical bank specimens for the 1 fen, 2 fen and 5 fen coins (hereafter “bank specimens for the fen coins”) were “distributed.” In the past, it was widely believed by private collectors that these 1 fen, 2 fen and 5 fen coins did not have bank specimens. Obviously this belief was wrong.

Secondly, PBOC issued the third series of Renminbi coins, the “four types of metal coins”, also known as “Great Wall coins.” Some coin collectors thought that the bank specimens of the 1980 Great Wall coin set (hereafter “Great Wall bank specimens”) were the first bank specimen set for circulating coins of PRC. This opinion looks wrong now, as the first bank specimen set for circulating coins of PRC was the fen coin bank specimens.

Probably because they do not have a chance to get in touch with the documents of PBOC, or they do not have the motivation or willpower to further research bank specimens, some coin collectors unanimously claimed that the 35th Anniversary set did not have corresponding bank specimens. There were other similar “claims.” Such claims prompted me to conclude that what was not or has not been discovered, or could not, cannot or will not be discovered in the future, would not necessarily guarantee their non-existence. Coin collectors who are interested in studying precious metal coins, circulating coins, circulating commemorative coins and bank specimens, myself included, must exercise caution and make factual statements based on reality after solid investigations and study. Logical, rational analysis and reasonable inferences based on such analysis can be made. Patience is needed before solid evidence is available, to avoid rushing to conclusions. Otherwise, in today’s world where information is more readily available, our motivation for making such claims may be questioned.

IV. The Simple Packaging Exactly Reflects the Manufacturing and Management Reality of Bank Specimens at That Time 

As PBOC took the entire responsibility of distributing sample banknotes (bank specimens), we have specific and sufficient reasons to believe that the PBOC branches, state-owned commercial banks and local banks did not stand a chance to make sample banknotes (bank specimens) themselves. The chance was even more remote for insurance companies, customs offices or other organizations. We would assume that even if some organizations other than the PBOC headquarters or those outside the PBOC system made sample banknotes (bank specimens), they would have had the authorization and confirmation from PBOC. In that case, the sample banknotes (bank specimens) they made would be regarded as issued by PBOC. Mr. Sun Keqin wrote an article “Bank Specimens of the 1980 Great Wall Coins”, which was published in the late May, 2010 issue of Numismatics. It has the following descriptions: “…found a piece of paper hidden in a little black album. Opening it, I saw "Receipt for the Bank Specimens of Four Metal Coins of Renminbi"…The receipt was dated April 10, 1980, and the issue date of the Great Wall coins was April 15. That is to say, the PBOC Shandong Branch released the bank specimens 5 days in advance. The receipt had a seal on the perforation at the bottom, with the bottom stub torn out…” (Pictures 5 and 6, taken from “Bank Specimens of the 1980 Great Wall Coins”). There was a description on the distribution of the bank specimens. The PBOC Shandong Branch basically followed the regulations in PBOC circulars for new releases of banknotes and coins, which emphatically and repeatedly require all the organizations to abide by the rules of sample banknotes (bank specimens) releases, and to insist on strict handover procedures and their proper registration. How did such Great Wall coin bank specimens find their way onto the market even with such precautions? My guess is that the PBOC Shandong Branch ran into some issues, or some special circumstances happened.

Picture 5

Picture 6

It is a basic rule for an organization to receive sample banknotes (bank specimens) from its parent organization, because by law the subordinate organization is not allowed to make such sample banknotes (bank specimens). For a subordinate organization to make sample banknotes (bank specimens) on their own would go against common sense, against the management regulations on sample banknotes (bank specimens) which PBOC announced time and again, and against policies and regulations announced by the government later, such as Law of the People's Bank of China and Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Renminbi.

Based on my observations, there were generally two stages in PBOC’s use of the terms “sample banknotes” and “bank specimens”:

The first stage dated from 1948 to 1998.

During this stage the bank specimens of RMB banknotes were called “sample banknotes.” In the official documents of PBOC, bank specimens of coins were also called “sample banknotes”, but it was repeatedly emphasized that “sample banknotes” included “bank specimens.” PBOC started to use the term “sample banknotes” from 1948, strictly in accordance with applicable regulations.

The second stage is from 1999 to now.

During this stage, the term for bank specimens gradually shifted from “sample banknotes” to “bank specimens”, till the latter was firmly adopted. In the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Renminbi put into effect on May 1, 2000, and in the Regulations of the People's Bank of China on the Administration of Renminbi Bank Specimens, which was included in the “Bank Issued Circular 2006 354" released on October 12, 2006, the term “sample banknotes” was finally phased out, and the term “bank specimens” started to be used consistently. I need to point out that the time from 1999 to 2006 was actually a transition period for the terminology of bank specimens. A major event occurred in 1999: the release of the fifth series of Renminbi. Bank specimens for the fifth series of Renminbi, the commemorative banknote for the 50th anniversary of PRC issued in 1999, the 2000 Dragon commemorative banknote and the 50 Yuan circulating banknote which are seen from time to time in recent years all adopted the term “bank specimen” instead of “sample banknotes.” “Bank specimens” rather than “sample banknotes” was used in Article 14, Chapter 2 and Article 28, Chapter 4 of the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Renminbi, and yet the Regulations of the People's Bank of China on the Administration of Renminbi Bank Specimens had not been officially announced for implementation. Regardless, PBOC was impatient to wait, and printed the term “bank specimen” on the banknotes, more or less against the regulations on sample banknote management which had been enacted and were still being enforced. This behavior of PBOC signified the subtle shift in terminology between the two stages.

Picture 7

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Picture 9

From the discussions above, we can conclude that “sample banknotes” printed by PBOC on the album of the bank specimens of the 35th Anniversary set, and the packaging which looks primitive and bizarre today, well fit into the terminology used by PBOC in the first stage, and the manufacturing convention of that time. In these two stages, PBOC was consistent on the one hand, and changeable on the other. Of course we cannot exclude the possibility of impulsive decisions by the bureaucrats. I will write another article to focus on the understanding of Renminbi bank specimens.

V. Rarity on the Market and Late Arrival Should Be Attributed to Its Looks
After the July 24 appearance on the market of the first complete set of the bank specimens for the 35th Anniversary set, which was the first set of circulating commemorative coins of  PRC, a collector in Wuxi displayed on September 9 a full set of the bank specimens for the 35th Anniversary set (Picture 10, taken from coin001.com).

Picture 10

How come these bank specimens are still this rare after more than 20 years?

Here are my speculations. First, only a small number of such bank specimens were distributed by PBOC to its branches at the provincial and local levels. When I had a chance to see bank specimens at the Jiangsu Branch of PBOC in November, 1994, I only saw one set of the 35th Anniversary bank specimens. Secondly, research by private coin collectors on bank specimens is still primitive, with minimal awareness and knowledge. Even if such bank specimens showed up, they might have been ignored with no recognition, or they might simply have been unrecognizable because the overall characteristics of the bank specimen package were stripped. The 35th Anniversary bank specimens bear distinctive features of that era, with its simple packaging and the term “sample banknotes”, which revealed the true conditions under which bank specimens of the early circulating commemorative coins were issued. Bank specimen collectors outside the banking system regard the characters 样币 (bank specimen) minted on both sides of the coin as the best indicator of such bank specimens. They would love to highlight and elaborate on the hallmark of bank specimens for promoting them. On the other hand, bank staff in charge of bank specimens or the staff in affiliated organizations would take a completely different attitude. As the characters 票样 (sample banknote) on the album of the 35th Anniversary bank specimens are much too eye-catching, those who intended to smuggle out the bank specimens would want to weaken or minimize such a distinctive feature. During the years when bank specimens fell out of the radar screen of the coin market, the characters票样 (sample banknote) printed only on the external packaging appeared unconvincing, and so might have escaped the immediate attention and recognition of collectors. Visually, bank specimens without the characters 样币 (bank specimen) on the coin do not give the impression as bank specimens. There is nothing unusual about them, and so they are not very interesting to the observer. It is likely that the 35th Anniversary bank specimens did show up in the past among private collectors, but not in one piece. They might have been “dismembered”, so to speak. The plastics pouches were cut open to retrieve the three coins in them. This may be the reason that nobody in the coin market ever saw a complete set of the bank specimens. This scenario is highly possible considering the 1980 Great Wall bank specimen albums and early coin albums which were cut open for trading on the coin market (Picture 11, taken from coin001.com on August 22, 2011; Picture 12, taken from coin001.com on August 11, 2011; Picture 13, taken from coin001.com on September 2, 2011). The outer packaging of initial coins from PBOC is highly important. The same goes for bank specimens. If the complete package is totally damaged, bank specimens without the characters 样币 (bank specimen) on the coin would lose much or all of their bank specimen marking. When this happens, we can only get some clues by comparing them with intact albums. The emergence of this complete set of the 35th Anniversary bank specimens, on the other hand, reflects the fact that the true value of bank specimens is being discovered by a handful of collectors with insight. I am deeply grateful to coin001.com and the collectors from Sichuan and Xinjiang who provided the physical bank specimens. If they had cut the packaging and taken out the coins because of their ignorance of bank specimens and their value, these bank specimens would mean nothing now. The fen bank specimens which nobody has caught a glimpse of might have been “dismembered”, too.

Picture 11

Picture 12

Picture 13

It can be predicted that the complete 35th Anniversary bank specimen sets will show up in the future, so will the fen bank specimens. It is only a matter of time, although this will also depend on the growth of the number of bank specimen collectors and PBOC’s bank specimen management.

What was the mintage of the 35th Anniversary bank specimens? The bank document did not give a specific number, and it is extremely difficult to learn the transactions between PBOC and its branches. What I am sure of is that there is a precise mintage number, which needs to be found out through further exploration.

V. The Numismatic Significance of the Discovery of the 35th Anniversary Bank Specimens

Based on the valuation of the currency market and the general circumstances, up to September 19, 2011, when I am writing this article, the market value of the 35th Anniversary bank specimens is relatively low, but its numismatic value is exceptional.

This 35th Anniversary bank specimen set embodies the characteristics of bank specimen packaging at that time. Before 2010, the consensus was that nobody had ever seen Great Wall coins with characters 样币 (bank specimen) on them. So could we conclude that PBOC never issued bank specimens for the Great Wall coins? Of course not. Through the research by Sun Keqin and Chen Zhihong, we now know that bank specimens were issued for the Great Wall coins. Their article “Bank Specimens for the 1980 Great Wall Coins” claims that PBOC issued the bank specimens in a small plastic album with 4 coins packed in it. The PBOC internal working “receipt” indicated their bank specimen status and their quantity. It should be pointed out that there was no information whatsoever on the inside or outside of the package which would characterize the coins as bank specimens. Without the “receipt”, they are hardly recognizable as bank specimens.

Between the years from the bank specimens for the Great Wall coins to the 35th Anniversary bank specimens, no new coins (circulating commemorative coins included) were released. In 1984, PBOC added the characters票样 (sample banknote) to the album of the 35th Anniversary bank specimens. Compared with the bank specimens for the Great Wall coins, this was a big step forward as there was a direct visual clue to their bank specimen status. In 1985, when the second circulating commemorative coin “Tibet” was issued, PBOC directly added the characters 样币 (bank specimen) to the coin (Picture 14), which provided even more direct visual clues. When the new “Three Flowers” coins were minted in 1991, PBOC also added the characters 样币 (bank specimen) to the three coins. As for why bank specimens for the 6th National Games only had the characters 样币 (bank specimen) printed on the plastic panel, I cannot make any speculations as I do not have any knowledge about the details.

Picture 14

Picture 15

In the above discussion, I did not make a distinction between circulating coins and circulating commemorative coins in the research of bank specimens. If we focus on the changing characteristics among bank specimens of circulating commemorative coins, the 35th Anniversary had the least prominent features as bank specimens, because PBOC employed such primitive packaging. Next come the bank specimens for the 6th National Games. It is no wonder that coin collectors complain that they have a hard time selling these bank specimens. On the other hand, the would-be buyers also remain agitated and hesitant, often complaining that buying these bank specimens amounts to acquiring a plastic panel fitted with coins. If the price of the 35th Anniversary bank specimens goes up in the future, we will be challenged with counterfeits as they are easy to make. This risk calls for vigilance by the collector community.

The 35th Anniversary bank specimens look very distant from the images of bank specimens our mind is accustomed to. They do not match the format of most bank specimens where we expect the characters 样币 (bank specimen) on the coin. We are more or less left with a feeling of loss. However, this is a cold fact, without fanfare but overpowering. This is the real way that PBOC marked out bank specimens in the early days. We must keep a clear mind on this real-life issue: PBOC will never be swayed by private opinions on how to make bank specimens. Nor will they be considerate for the sake of bank specimen collection, exchange and research by private collectors later on. We have to tackle all these issues on bank specimens with our own efforts, prepared for all the challenges. There is no alternative.

The discovery and research on the 35th Anniversary bank specimens marked a major breakthrough in the exploration of Renminbi bank specimens, with enormous practical significance: According to the definition by PBOC, Renminbi bank specimens are “the standard samples made for checking the printing quality and detecting counterfeits of Renminbi, based on the Renminbi approved by the People’s Bank of China; They are instruments for the operation of currency issuance and important physical references.” From the perspective of numismatics, I would like to position the Renminbi bank specimens as fitting in the scope of numismatic research. Bank specimens are an integral part of the broad Chinese numismatic culture system. Specialized research focused on bank specimens should never be ignored.

With the discovery of the 35th Anniversary bank specimens, we are now certain that all the circulating commemorative coins from PRC have their bank specimens, which ended the situation where the big family of circulating commemorative bank specimens was missing some members. The whole family of these bank specimens is now presented perfectly to the world.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Dandan's Comments on Chinese Coins (7) - 1997 Auspicious Matters


The coin I am going to talk about today is "Auspicious Matters". This coin was released in 1997. It is a coin with a big story as it went through huge price swings. Auspicious Matters coins were minted both in gold and silver. I will focus on the silver coins. In addition to the traditional 1 ounce coin, there were half-ounce, two-ounce, five-ounce and 12-ounce ones. Even the 1 ounce coin had two types, a 10-Yuan type, and a 5-Yuan piedfort type. It is the 1 ounce silver coin with normal thickness that I will discuss today, because the price swing was unprecedented in the history of modern Chinese gold and silver coins. Many new hands are still buying and selling this coin even today, hoping to bring back its past splendor.

The 1 ounce silver Auspicious Matters was released in 1997, with a mintage of 80 thousand. By today's standards, the mintage was not big, but it was huge in those years. This coin is a typical case where investment outran collection. I mentioned before that in a healthy collection market, collection should guide investment, where the prices of collectibles would see a steady growth. Once investment funds crowd in, or when speculation outruns collection, the market would be skewed, with the value of the investment target overdrawn in advance. The 1 ounce silver Auspicious Matters was targeted by coin speculators for the following reasons:

1.     Year of release. The year 1997 was the hottest year ever for the market. Speculative funds swarmed in. Market orientation turned from investment to speculation. Moreover, this change was entering into the late phase, gradually taking over the market.

2.     Good theme, with an auspicious homophone. The Chinese would like a fish when ordering food, hoping for "fish" (homophonic with "surplus") year in, year out. Good fortune forever, just like businessmen who love to buy a pot of lucky bamboo. Who would not wish for a better life, year after year? The theme of Auspicious Matters is well rooted among the Chinese people, reflecting the essence of the 5,000 years of Chinese civilization.

3.     Enough quantity for speculation. I mentioned before that market movers and speculators only speculate on items they can obtain in quantity. Money is made by hoarding them and then hyping about them. If there is no quantity, who will benefit when the price is whipped up? The quantity of Auspicious Matters was neither too big, nor too small. In addition, the coin could be obtained in quantity at that time, making it easy to flip.

With the three features above, and with the right timing, right place and right people, the rapid upswing was totally expected. Market development confirmed such expectations. The scenario that all the folks imagined unfolded before their eyes, but…

When the 1997 Auspicious Matters was released, the market had already entered the parabolic phase. The release price of the 1 ounce silver Auspicious Matters was already at 200 Yuan. Today, a silver coin with a 200 Yuan price tag is commonplace. Even a Panda with a mintage of millions and with no COA is priced in this range. However, considering the market conditions in 1997, 200 Yuan and plus was a fairly high price. But it was just the beginning. When average collectors were still hesitating, speculators and market movers started to move in. Soon Auspicious Matters saw rounds and rounds of price growth. The ratio of this price growth was more formidable than that of the stock market in 2007 and the Fourth Series of the banknotes last year. The 1 ounce silver Auspicious Matters made new heights all the way, reaching as high as 1,400 Yuan at the top. Pushed by hot money, it already overshot the market by ten years, overdrawing the price appreciation for that period. It would add a sense of epic tragedy to the upcoming market crash.

With the downturn of the coin market in late 1997, the price of the 1 ounce silver Auspicious Matters slid non-stop. Speculating funds had no loyalty to collectibles. When speculators found that not much profit could be gleaned from the targeted items, a tragedy would befall. A violent crash started. This collapse was unparalleled even on the stock market, because the stock market in our country has a down limit. But the coin market knew no such limits. The price dropped like a rock, from over 1,000 Yuan to under 1,000 Yuan, and again from just under 1,000 Yuan to a few hundred Yuan. By 2003, this 1 ounce silver Auspicious Matters, which was extremely popular with a good theme and favored by numerous collectors, went as low as less than 100 Yuan. The lowest price I saw at that time was 90 some Yuan. After half a year of intense hyping and speculation, and several years of non-stop dropping, the 1 ounce silver Auspicious Matters finally found its bottom. Collectors who bought the coin at that moment would realize what auspicious matters really were. Afterwards, Auspicious Matters went up and down with the market, till it reached the current price of several hundred Yuan, returning to its true value.

Even these days many people still love to buy and sell this coin, for the reasons I mentioned above. One other reason I can think of is that people believe that after ten years of market absorption, its availability is quite limited. But I have a different opinion. Those who bought this coin were mostly speculators, taking in sheets after sheets. These coins stuck with them when the market turned down. Did these owners melt the coins? Definitely not. The coins may have been stowed away in their safe boxes. Whenever the price of the 1 ounce silver Auspicious Matters makes a decent rise, it is met with strong down pressure. The reason can be looked up in my previous post on the 97 Unicorn. Auspicious Matters has a long way to go. Many who fell for it in 1997 are still under water, with the coin stuck in their hands, even after more than ten years. That's why some older people recommend this coin to new hands. They hope that new fund will keep pouring in, to bring this coin back to splendor. In the meantime they will rise above water, turning this loser coin for more than ten years into a profitable one.


Collection Index: 9
Investment Index: 5





Friday, May 23, 2014

Dandan's Comments on Chinese Coins (6) - Fan Shaped Lunar Coins

I am going to discuss the basics of the fan shaped lunar gold and silver coins today.

In 2000, the People's Bank of China issued the first fan shaped gold and silver lunar coins – the fan shaped gold and silver Dragon. It was the first time for lunar coins to appear in the fan shape, and it was the second time for them to take on an irregular shape. Before that was the plum flower shaped lunars. Now the plum flower lunars are in the second round already. The second round of fan shaped lunars will start this year (2012 - translator), too.

Starting from 2000, a fan shaped set of 1/2 oz gold and 1 oz silver coins were issued annually. The mintages were 6,600 and 66,000 respectively. However, the surface area of the fan shape is relatively small, and so they were less popular than the round and plum flower shaped coins. They are among the relatively ignored types in the lunar series. The most expensive fan shaped silver coin, the Horse, is around 7,000 Yuan, which is lagging considerably behind forerunners in other lunar series. The major cause of this situation is its relatively low consumption as gifts. People are used to round silver coins. Although the fan shaped coins also weight 1 oz, its surface area is smaller than that of plum flower shaped or round coins. As gifts, the fan shaped coins do not appear striking or impressive. So fewer people buy fan shaped coins as gifts. Although there are collector and investor purchases, their lack of quick investment returns has left them hanging between the top and the bottom, always trying to catch up. The fan shaped Dragon was the first release among fan shaped lunars, but it somehow inherited the fate of most other first releases in the lunar series, that is, the first release of the series seldom turned out to be the price leader. Its price is not only a far cry from that of the leading Horse, but also much lower than that of Snake, which was issued one year later. This year marks the twelfth year of the release of fan shaped silver coins. The closing fan shaped Rabbit was expected to outperform, but it has been disappointing anyhow. Details were given in one of my previous posts: Fan Shaped Silver Rabbit, a Disastrous Closing Piece.

There was some good news for fan shaped gold and silver coins lately. Starting from the second round of fan shaped gold and silver coins, the first ones to be released at the end of this year, all the gold coins will be reduced from 1/2 oz to 1/3 oz, and the mintage will be expanded enormously. The mintage of the first round would appear much smaller in comparison. It is a pretty positive development for the first round, but it will not bring about significant changes in the short term. For the fan shaped gold and silver lunar coins to take off, passage of time and consumers' acceptance will be needed, as well as more marketing efforts, so that more people will know and appreciate them.

Collection index: 8
Investment index: 8