This is a translation of Huang Ruiyong's online lecture on mini gold coins. For those who do not collect mini gold coins, the lecture offers a lot of background information on MCC coin collection. This is part one, about 1/3 of the lecture.
Source:
http://www.taoguba.com.cn/Article/298598/1Good evening, everyone. Today’s topic is: Stepping into the Magic Hall of Mini Gold Coins.
Whether we are appreciating gold coins for their aesthetic beauty, or evaluating them for collection, big coins have their splendor, and small ones have their own appeal, too.
Mini gold coins, as opposed to large size gold coins (those with a diameter over 50mm), refer to super small gold coins with a diameter under 20mm, including 1 gram, 1/25oz, 1/20oz and 1/10oz gold coins.
This coin family is often overlooked by collectors, probably because of their small size. But there are many gorgeous coins among them. We need to appreciate them as miniature engraving artworks, in a cheerful mood, with good eyesight or a magnifier. The charm of this group of coins has to be enjoyed with both our eyes and our heart. Now let’s examine some of them.
First, we have 1 gram gold coins. Up till now, the PRC issued only three 1 gram gold coins: 1983 Marco Polo, 1990 Dragon and Phoenix and 1991 Panda. These are among the smallest gold coins in the world. It is not an exaggeration to claim that 1 gram gold coins from the PRC are outstanding epitomes of the art of miniature engraving. When we gaze into Marco Polo’s profound eyes, or watch the lovely and good-natured panda munching on bamboo branches, we often forget that this masterpiece is achieved on a space 10mm in diameter. Once we realize the physical size, we would feel nothing but admiration towards this perfect combination of human sculpture and machine striking. We are lucky to have this wonderful opportunity to fully appreciate the best of modern artworks.
One advantage of collecting all the three 1 gram gold coins is that we can take them around. With an eye-friendly Carl Zeiss magnifier, we can share with our friends at any moment this elegant taste hard to find in the metropolis. They are unlike our expensive gold coins, which have to be locked up in the safe or in a safe deposit box. We cannot lay our hand on the latter whenever we want them for appreciation, which is a spoiler to our enthusiasm. 1 gram gold coins are simply wonderful.
Let’s talk about 1/25oz gold coins. This size is only available after the set of 25 commemorative gold coins was issued for the 25 year anniversary of panda gold coins. The packaging of the set is much too luxurious and too heavy. With two such sets in our arms, it is our physical strength that will be tested, not our eyes. For those who are not familiar with panda gold coins, if they buy this set of 25 gold coins when they start collecting, they will gradually warm up to the panda designs of each year, and make progress in collection.
Now let’s turn to 1/20oz gold coins. In contrast to the simple group of 1 gram gold coins, we suddenly run into a lot more members in the 1/20oz gold coin family, so many more that we are dazzled by them.
How should we go about collecting them? Let’s get down to the details. We all know that the formal issue of 1/20oz gold coins started with the 83 panda gold coins. 1982 was the first year of panda gold coins. They followed the convention of leaving out denomination on Krugerrand gold coins from South Africa. So the 1982 panda coins neither had denominations nor the 1/20oz size.
Starting from 1983, BU panda gold coins were issued in the five fixed sizes of 1oz, 1/2oz, 1/4oz, 1/10oz and 1/20oz, which have been the norm up to now. From 1983 to 2010, 28 BU 1/20oz panda gold coins were issued. If one collects the complete set, the little pandas in various postures are a lot of fun to watch.
If someone intends to collect the tough 1/20oz proof panda gold coins, the years range from 1986 to 1994, 9 coins in total. The problem is that proof gold coins all come in sets. They cannot be purchased as individual pieces like BU panda gold coins. So to collect all the nine 1/20oz proof panda gold coins (with P), one has to buy all the proof gold sets. Collectors in China reaching this level are very few.
Two other 1/20oz gold coins inseparable from their sets both were issued in 1993: one is the Songshan gold coin in the Famous Mountains gold coin set; the other is the 1/20oz gold coin in the proof Guanyin gold coin set. As they are not individually available, collectors devoted to 1/20oz gold coins can simply ignore them.
What 1/20oz gold coins are available for collection, then? Please note that we are talking about individual 1/20oz gold coins not belonging to any set.
These coins are small in number. You can count them on two hands, but they are fascinating nevertheless. They include: 1993 1/20oz Guanyin gold coin (with and without “S”), 1996 1/20oz Guanyin gold coin, 1997 1/20oz Guanyin gold coin, 1994 1/20oz Unicorn gold coin, 1995 1/20oz Unicorn gold coin, 1996 1/20oz Unicorn gold coin (with and without “P”), 1997 1/20oz Auspicious Matters gold coin, 9 in all. These nine coins are all the 1/20oz gold coins excluding the 1/20oz gold coins in the panda sets and in other sets. Once we have them all, they can be placed into the pretty American Air-Tite capsules. We can bring them along, for showing off, or to enjoy them privately. It is a lot of fun.
Let’s explore further. When we look into more details of these 9 coins, we are taken by surprise: the 1993 1/20oz Guanyin gold coin has two varieties, with and without “S”, like the 1/2oz gold coin for Mao Zedong’s 100th anniversary. This is the charm of gold coins from the PRC. A lot of information is missing from official catalogs, and we recover the information during collection.
When we set out to look for them, we will find that the 1/20oz Guanyin gold coin with “S” is much harder to find than that without “S”. This in turn stimulates our interest in exploring the ocean of gold coins.
The 1996 1/20oz Guanyin gold coin is also rare because the China Gold Coin Co. placed an order with Nanjing Mint to make chest buckles with it. The 1997 1/20oz Guanyin gold coin has always been difficult to spot. The attached picture shows a talisman with the coin on it which was custom made by Shanghai Mint and consecrated by the reputable Jade Buddha Temple in Shanghai.
Unicorn is a series that came to the attention of many collections just in the past year. We know that unicorn coins saw a lot of mishaps in China. Unicorn gold and silver coins were minted in Shenyang Mint during 1994 and 1995, but they moved to Shanghai Mint in 1996, and ended at Shenzhen Guobao Mint in misery in 1997. According to the plan, the 1997 Unicorn was going to be issued much the same way as in 94—96, in five sizes of 1oz, 1/2oz, 1/4oz, 1/10oz and 1/20oz, five in all. But the market crashed in 1997, and as a result, only 1/10oz gold unicorn was issued that year. Other sizes remained as patterns. Among the 1/20oz size gold Unicorns, the 1996 Unicorn Head (with “P”) is the most difficult to obtain. It is a lot pricier than the Unicorn Head with out “P”.
Many collectors do not care about mini gold coins, or collect them without much research. They may easily miss out a gem——1997 1/20oz Auspicious Matters gold coin.
This coin, like its elder brother (1997 1/10oz Auspicious Matters gold coin), has the release mintage of 100000. But it has been discovered that its actual mintage was only 8000. My goodness: everyone bought these coins as gifts assuming they had a mintage of 100000, in addition to those melted. In the past few years, the 1997 1/20oz Auspicious Matters gold coin was simply buried among the commonplace. In terms of market availability, the 1/20oz gold Auspicious Matters is a lot less than the 1/10oz gold Auspicious Matters. The mirror field and frosting are both gorgeous on this coin, making it well worth collecting.
(To be continued)