Topic: The Journey of the Chinese Classical Garden Series of Medals

[fwang2450]

Oops, I meant to ask about Brass Colorized. Its listed in that section but no number is noted.

The latest mintage numbers of the Imperial Summer Resort medals are:

Gold: 10
Silver proof: 1,000 (down from the planned 1,200)
Antique silver: 388 (down from the planned 500)
Brass: 420
Stained brass: 180

[BobW]

How will these medals be distributed/sold?

[fwang2450]

How will these medals be distributed/sold?

There is a QQ group, where people can reserve the medals at the release price. But the reservation period ended at last year. What I hear is that the brass versions are extremely in demand, probably due to the low price. There are two general distributors for this set, one for the domestic market, the other for the overseas market. This is the first time the distributor model is used, and so there is no forecast what the price structure will be like.

Please be aware that the reserved medals will be OMP. If someone wants to buy graded ones, he or she will have to wait till grading is done, probably at a pretty high premium if the grading results do not turn out as expected. The antique finish Yuanmingyuan (Old Summer Palace) had only only a few 69's out of the more than 100 submitted for grading.

eBay dealers like Lucky will have some pieces for sale, although I do not know how many he reserved. If you are interested in OMP, I will ask the sponsors of the series as well as the general distributors about the availability at the release prices or slightly higher prices. Please PM me with the version(s) you are interested in and how many. I will see what I can do.

[fwang2450]

For those who want to buy before seeing the medals, please be aware of the risk that the antique and stained finished may not work well on all the themes. Just a reminder.

[andrewlee10]

The sponsor come out with too many varieties to suck money.

I personally is one of the classical garden collector BUT I do not like the new design which is more on building theme than Garden.

However, I still will buy it for the sake of continue of the full set.

[NBM]

I agree this seems like the least interesting of the set, perhaps it will have more charm in hand?
Who is "the sponsor"?

[PandaOrLunar]

..buy it for the sake of continue of the full set.

Can you ready get the full set <end rhetorical question>.  Unless there is an official authoritative report on what is produced, someone will discovered among the release a small sand, narrow door, frosted roof tile, chipped tooth, hairy nose, etc.  

[fwang2450]

I agree this seems like the least interesting of the set, perhaps it will have more charm in hand?
Who is "the sponsor"?

Without seeing the physical medal, it is hard to know how good it is. Only after I took high resolution pictures of this series, did I find out the superb workmanship of Yuanmingyuan (Old Summer Palace). It is my favorite. On the other hand, most people in the QQ group like Lan Ting. A PF70 Lan Ting sold for RMB 10,000 recently.

One common issue with this series is that most miss the mirror-cameo contrast, and there is too much stuff on the design. This Summer Resort is no exception. The designer could have left the water/lake part flat in a mirror field. Instead some lines were added to imitate waves, disrupting the mirror effect.

The sponsor of the Classical Garden series is Cai Xiaoping, who is a successful businessman. I don't believe he makes much money out of the series. The release prices of the medals are pretty low, such as $35 dollars for the brass version.

[andrewlee10]

This money is not crucial for Cai for sure. However, the others helper and so on............ Y color brass, why Xie and so on and on.

It is really puzzle me.

[fwang2450]

This money is not crucial for Cai for sure. However, the others helper and so on............ Y color brass, why Xie and so on and on.

It is really puzzle me.

Some dealers have helped push up the prices of some of the low mintage medals in the series, like Xie Qu Yuan, especially on eBay. But if you find the right person, you can get them at a much lower price. I believe Bob got his Xie Qu Yuan set at a fair price.

[andrewlee10]

I can get NGC PF69 antique finishing at RMB 6,000.

Silver raw at RMB2900 - 3200

This price is far away in ebay. However, I did not keen on it at all. Too many varieties which no way for me to keep up.

[fwang2450]

A PF70 Lan Ting sold for RMB 10,000 recently.

Sorry, my mistake. It was not a Lan Ting. It was a silver Xie Qu Yuan.

[barsenault]

Wow. That is about 1,600 u.s for the one medal.  A PF70 must be very rare.  The only one out of 99?

[KeepOnTrying!]

Hello everyone. Just joined the CCF! I am debuting on this particular thread because it provided me with critical information that helped me build up my Garden Medal collection so far. I am US based. I would describe myself best as a Collector. I however don't like throwing away money so I try to buy at reasonable prices or hope that items I purchase will appreciate in future to justify whatever I spent. In that case I might be called a Collector-Investor kind of. I haven't sold any coin or medal yet. If I do so it will be pay for the habit! I however, cannot foretell what will happen to my current collection approach in 5-10-15 years.

I wish to thank all contributors to this forum. I have learnt a lot from your postings both here and elsewhere.

I am excited about the coming release of the 5th in the Classical Garden Medal series. My only concern is that with the recent explosion in interest in these medals their prices will shoot up and they may become difficult to find or buy.

[Birdman]

Hello everyone. Just joined the CCF! I am debuting on this particular thread because it provided me with critical information that helped me build up my Garden Medal collection so far. I am US based. I would describe myself best as a Collector. I however don't like throwing away money so I try to buy at reasonable prices or hope that items I purchase will appreciate in future to justify whatever I spent. In that case I might be called a Collector-Investor kind of. I haven't sold any coin or medal yet. If I do so it will be pay for the habit! I however, cannot foretell what will happen to my current collection approach in 5-10-15 years.

I wish to thank all contributors to this forum. I have learnt a lot from your postings both here and elsewhere.

I am excited about the coming release of the 5th in the Classical Garden Medal series. My only concern is that with the recent explosion in interest in these medals their prices will shoot up and they may become difficult to find or buy.

Welcome to the Forum, KeepOnTrying!  +1