Shanghai Mint Company and Shenzhen Guobao Mint Company produced a 10 yuan silver coin, a 2,000 yuan gold coin and a 100 yuan gold coin to commemorate the Ancient City of Pingyao for the People’s Republic of China. The obverse side of the 2,000 yuan gold coin features the architectural landscape of Pingyao’s Ancient City, Chinese characters translating to “Pingyao Ancient City” and the face value. The obverse side of the 100 yuan gold coin features the architectural style of the Wanguo’s Temple of Zhenguo. A panoramic, as well as frontal views of the Zhenguo Temple, are shown along with the face value. Chinese inscriptions translate to “Pingyao Ancient City, Zhenguo Temple”. The obverse side of the 10 yuan silver coin features a distinct motif showing the Weilin statue of Shuanglin Temple. The architectural style of Tianwangdian is depicted along with the face value. Chinese inscriptions translate to “Pingyao Ancient City. Shuanglin Temple”. The common reverse design for all three coins shows a central design highlighting the architectural style of the ancient buildings, along with inscriptions THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA and year “2019”.

The 30 grams .999 Silver 10 yuan Proof coin has a diameter of 40 millimetres and a mintage limit of 20,000 pieces. The 8 grams .999 Gold 100 yuan Proof coin has a diameter of 22 millimetres and a mintage limit of 10,000 pieces. The 150 grams .999 Gold 2,000 yuan Proof Coin has a diameter of 60 millimetres and a mintage limit of 600 pieces.

Pingyao was founded in the 14th century and is located in central Shanxi Province. It was a financial centre for China from the 19th century to the early 20th century. It was here where China’s banking industry originated. It comprises of three parts, area inside the walls of Pingyao, Shuanglin Temple, and Zhenguo Temple. The well-preserved site retains the traditional county-level cities of the Han people from the 14th to the 20th century. Pingyao’s old town is one of the best ancient walled cities in the world. It is spread across 225 hectares of land and consists of ancient walls, streets and lanes, shops, homes, and temples. UNESCO declared it as a World Heritage Site in 1997.

Image Courtesy: Shanghai Mint Company