Topic: Stairway to Heavenly

[PandaCollector]

Here is a 2015 medal with a fairly direct design:



Best wishes,
Peter Anthony
NGC Consultant
China Pricepedia — Chinese Coin Prices and More
The Gold & Silver Panda Coin Buyer’s Guide 3
www.pandacollector.com

[pandamonium]

I love them both but early years are the best choice for investment.      A few NILM or new issue low mint medals have retained their value and gone up but most have dropped in price.    I tracked a NIML 69 brass that sold for $19 on ebay w/ 99 mint.     This is typical of NILM,  but CCL would know best.     Have tracked big gold.    New issue big gold has big price but i see few sales if any.    Again, CCL would know.    Early issue big gold has big price and sales.     Many early issue that are listed do not say sold but say unavailable which means there are negotiations behind the scenes, and not relisted.
NILM is great for the love of design but the big money will flood into early issue.     Like i once posted on the other site, those that sell NILM are quietly buying early issue behind the scenes w/ the profits made from selling NILM.    What does that say?    Those that promote sales of NILM do not believe in their value.      Buy them all if you wish but understand the early issue will see huge demand in the near future....   
I must admit NILM are beauties so to each their own....

[fwang2450]

To follow up on Hippanda's analogy, modern electronic music can imitate the sound of a violin or an oboe. The sound is accurate and smooth, but you can never hear the vibration of the string or the reed on the real instrument. The sound is bland, featureless. Similarly, the CAD produced image on a medal can imitate the handwork of an sculptor on clay, but it does not have the feeling of texture. It is smooth and bland the same way electronic music is smooth and bland.

[PandaCollector]

Actually, quite a few coin artists at the mints still work in clay. It isn't unusual at all. No active engraver hand carves dies any longer, as far as I am aware of. At a BICE show a few years ago, the Shenyang Mint brought along a retired engraver who demonstrated hand carving dies to visitors. It was quite fascinating to watch.

Here is another view of the clay-sculpted wolf medal by Liao Bo:



Best wishes,
Peter Anthony
NGC Consultant
China Pricepedia — Chinese Coin Prices and More
The Gold & Silver Panda Coin Buyer’s Guide 3
www.pandacollector.com

[Hippanda]

Choose your style-

Classic to modern:

[Hippanda]

Of the more modern medals, this is one of the few that I have found pleasing:  2015 Kuan-yin

[fwang2450]

Actually, quite a few coin artists at the mints still work in clay. It isn't unusual at all. No active engraver hand carves dies any longer, as far as I am aware of. At a BICE show a few years ago, the Shenyang Mint brought along a retired engraver who demonstrated hand carving dies to visitors. It was quite fascinating to watch.

Here is another view of the clay-sculpted wolf medal by Liao Bo:



Best wishes,
Peter Anthony
NGC Consultant
China Pricepedia — Chinese Coin Prices and More
The Gold & Silver Panda Coin Buyer’s Guide 3
www.pandacollector.com

I like this better than his Buddhas, although I bought those, too.

[fwang2450]

One of the present day Chinese medals I did not want to miss this is one based on the Chinese novel Strange Tales from the Liaozhai Studio (https://blogs.loc.gov/international-collections/2018/10/the-strange-tales-from-liaozhai/). Compared with the high relief medals currently in fashion, designs on this one is pretty flat, and to match the theme of the stories, the medal is stained black. There is nothing flashy about it. But since its release, the price has tripled, unlike most copper medals recently released. See the pictures below from a Taobao seller. (Disclosure: I have one medal myself.)

[PandaCollector]

One of the present day Chinese medals I did not want to miss this is one based on the Chinese novel Strange Tales from the Liaozhai Studio (https://blogs.loc.gov/international-collections/2018/10/the-strange-tales-from-liaozhai/). Compared with the high relief medals currently in fashion, designs on this one is pretty flat, and to match the theme of the stories, the medal is stained black. There is nothing flashy about it. But since its release, the price has tripled, unlike most copper medals recently released. See the pictures below from a Taobao seller. (Disclosure: I have one medal myself.)

 

This is a beautiful, poetic design.

Best wishes,
Peter Anthony
NGC Consultant
China Pricepedia — Chinese Coin Prices and More
The Gold & Silver Panda Coin Buyer’s Guide 3
www.pandacollector.com