Topic: Great Wall 1984 3.3 oz. Silver Medal - Two Versions

[mmissinglink]

Thank you fwang. this must be a great resource book but there is probably no English version of it, right?


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[fwang2450]

Thank you fwang. this must be a great resource book but there is probably no English version of it, right?


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It is in Chinese only.

[bonke]

I attended the coin show in Macau last weekend (December 5-7, 2014).  One of the major Chinese coin dealers who specializes in modern Chinese medals participated in this event.  In his case, I saw a silver matte Great Wall medal in an NGC holder.  I asked to see it.  Immediately, I looked at the edge.  I was looking for a stamped number or the designation showing silver content and weight.  [These two matte versions/varieties have been discussed in this coin forum].  Instead, I saw in the 6 o'clock position a four digit number starting in a zero and ending in a zero.  The two numbers in the middle were a 5 and a 6 in a mirror image.  These numbers were not hand-stamped on the edge after the medal was produced.  I immediately asked the dealer about this.  He was unaware of the number on the edge.  He indicated there are many matte versions/varieties of this medal.  Treat this as a warning.  This medal was not inexpensive.  The dealer was asking US $4000 for it.  Is a silver matte Great Wall medal in a 69 holder with this particular edge detail worth this amount of money?  When was it struck?  Mintage?

I do not have any answers to these questions.  I just wanted the forum members to be aware of the fact that this issue is much more complicated than I had assumed after reading prior comments from the Chinese experts who participate in this coin forum. 

Mark Bonke   

[naomi01225]

he took off from ngc holder to showed ur edge？
if in holder hard to see，i took off a ngc ms66 to checked the edge，no number on that，only ag999 3两3 on it
too many versions nobody knows exactly mintage

[bonke]

The silver matte Great Wall medal was in an NGC oversized holder with a clear plastic ring surrounding the coin or medal.  In appropriate light with magnification, it was easy to look at the edge of the medal and see this strange mirror-image four-digit number.  NGC did not create an opening in the clear plastic and NGC did not show this number in the title.

Mark Bonke 

[mmissinglink]

Thank you Mark for the info.

Clearly, there needs to be more investigation and research into these incredible 1980's Great Wall medals because there are still apparent discrepancies.

Was the NGC holder the "EdgeView" type? I really like the approach that they have made to create a slab in which the edge can be seen (even if with a loupe and strong light).



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[bonke]

I do not think that NGC has edge-view holders for the larger coins and medals.  Instead, the NGC over-size holders have a clear ring which holds the coin or medal.  Sometimes, a small area is carved out of this clear ring to expose the number on the edge.

Mark Bonke

[mmissinglink]

Thanks Mark...in the future, I hope that these TPG's come to realize that edge view is important in all sizes.

[bonke]

A recent listing on Ebay, #1116 1141 2065, involves a 1984 Great Wall silver medal, NGC PF66UC.  I do not know how to import pictures of the medal & I do not know how to link the listings to this coin forum.  After years of discussion, it is worth looking at the pictures of this medal.

Disclosure.  It is not my listing.  It is not my medal.  I do not know the Ebay seller.  I do not even own a silver Type II Great Wall medal.  So, I am not trying to help sell this medal.  I am just adding to our long term discussion of these medals.
 
Mark Bonke

[fwang2450]

A recent listing on Ebay, #1116 1141 2065, involves a 1984 Great Wall silver medal, NGC PF66UC.  I do not know how to import pictures of the medal & I do not know how to link the listings to this coin forum.  After years of discussion, it is worth looking at the pictures of this medal.

Disclosure.  It is not my listing.  It is not my medal.  I do not know the Ebay seller.  I do not even own a silver Type II Great Wall medal.  So, I am not trying to help sell this medal.  I am just adding to our long term discussion of these medals.
 
Mark Bonke

This is a 1987 Beacon Tower Great Wall mirror, not the 1982/84 Plum Flower Great Wall mirror. It has been on eBay for quite a while.

[bonke]

Thanks for your information. 

I have not thought about these medals for awhile.  I just remember the silver medals from 1984 (Type I Proof & Type I Matte)(Type II Proof). 

Are you saying there is also a silver medal from 1987?  Also, are you saying the silver medal in the listing is from 1987?

I better go back and read these 17 pages of comments before I post anything again. 

Mark Bonke

[fwang2450]

Thanks for your information. 

I have not thought about these medals for awhile.  I just remember the silver medals from 1984 (Type I Proof & Type I Matte)(Type II Proof). 

Are you saying there is also a silver medal from 1987?  Also, are you saying the silver medal in the listing is from 1987?

I better go back and read these 17 pages of comments before I post anything again. 

Mark Bonke

The date of 1984 on the slab is certainly wrong. It is from 1987. Instead of using "Type I" and "Type II", which is confusing, I and a number of other Great Wall medal collectors have been following the Chinese conventions, calling the 1984 "Type I"  "Plum Flower Great Wall" and the 1987 "Type II" "Beacon Tower Great Wall". These are taken from the design elements in the foreground on the medal.

[mmissinglink]

I think that it is smart to use that naming convention fwang...makes discussing these rare Great Wall medals less confusing.

[mcc168]

Long beach show treasure found....

[pandamonium]

Good score!   How was the show?...