2017-09-14 Thu

Stack’s Bowers and Ponterio sold a large sized Modern Chinese gold commemorative coin featuring the famous Dragon and Phoenix motif for $114,000 USD at the August 2017 Hong Kong Showcase Auction.

The design represents the two halves of Yin Yang symbol where both the Dragon and the Phoenix are in mid-air. The Dragon represents masculinity, power, success, and fortune in Chinese culture while the Phoenix represents femininity, immortality, longevity, and prosperity. Other inscriptions include the denomination 1,500 Yuan and technical details of the coin “.999 Au 20 oz.”

A Chinese inscription on the reverse translates to “People’s Republic of China” while another one translates to the date of issue '1990'. The reverse also shows the Great Wall of China which was built during the Qin Dynasty in the late third century BCE. It was later modified during the Ming Dynasty (14th to 17th centuries CE). The Great Wall of China restricted the northern Mongol tribes to control trade. The mintage limit of this coin is only 250 pieces and the offered coin has a serial number #071.