When bats equal blessings and peaches equal longevity

Discussion in 'World Coins' started by lordmarcovan, Feb 22, 2020.

  1. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    This modern Chinese 10-yuan commemorative from the Auspicious Culture series ("Longevity") charmed me the first time I saw one a year or so ago, but I didn't buy it.

    (As a "serious numismatist", I think I'm supposed to scoff at modern colorized coins, right?)

    But it came to mind again, and last night I broke down and bought one. I just really like the quintessential Chinese character of those little bats flying around the gilt enamel peach design, which looks like antique lacquered art. I just found it beautiful, for some reason.

    60,000 of these were minted, half of which went into sets.

    Bats and peaches on the same side of the same coin. Who could have predicted that?

    China-10y-frame.png China-10y-box.jpg China-10y-slab-obv.jpg
     
    Deacon Ray, Stork, ddddd and 6 others like this.
  2. Avatar

    Guest User Guest



    to hide this ad.
  3. John Anthony

    John Anthony Ultracrepidarian

    It's a great coin. Are the peaches colorized by gold plating? It doesn't look like paint.
     
    lordmarcovan likes this.
  4. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    Yes, they're gilt. I have yet to see it in hand yet.
     
  5. ddddd

    ddddd Member

    Nice coin!

    We are often told that modern coins with adornments aren't for serious numismatists. But I tend to disagree. There are plenty of beautiful modern coins. One person's tacky is another's cool. I've posted this before, but here is one of my gilt moderns that I really like.

    IMG_4581.JPG IMG_4582.JPG
     
    Stork and -jeffB like this.
  6. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    Wow, now I really want one of those! I have a thing for owls.

    (Even more than bats and peaches)
     
    ddddd likes this.
  7. Chris B

    Chris B Supporter! Supporter

    I alway's preach to collectors, especially new ones, don't let someone else tell you what to collect. I think a very structured narrow collection is boring. If that works for you though, go for and good for you. I have pieces such as this one I bought simply because I like it.

    I think your China piece is neat but not for me. That's one of the great things about this hobby in my opinion. We can all do our own thing.

    Fij201206.jpg
     
    Stork, lordmarcovan and ddddd like this.
  8. ddddd

    ddddd Member

    It's part of a new series (totem animals) that started in 2018.
    I have both and bought them from a seller in Kazakhstan (via eBay).

    There are four versions of the 2019 owl coin:
    ~100 Tenge: no gilding, BU, base metal (right now around $10)
    ~200 Tenge: gilding, prooflike, base metal (right now around $25-$30)
    ~500 Tenge: gilding, proof, 1 oz silver (right now around $75)
    ~5000 Tenge: gilding, proof, 25 oz silver (I haven't seen these for sale, likely super pricey)

    Here is my thread:
    https://www.cointalk.com/threads/the-collection-continues.349335/
     
    lordmarcovan likes this.
  9. gxseries

    gxseries Coin Collector

    The bat theme appears in Hong Kong 1997 commemorative 5 dollar coin

    [​IMG]

    Supposedly it's 5 bats of happiness surrounded by the character longevity.

    That said, bats aren't very received at the moment with the virus associated with them...
     
    lordmarcovan likes this.
  10. Stork

    Stork I deliver Supporter

    Totally agree that one should collect what appeals (budget allowing ;) or I'd have a nice Una and the Lion among other things).

    There is a certain snobbery in disparaging 'modern crap', some of which is quite appealing. And one thing I've loved about your 'eclectic box of ##' is that there IS room for things that appeal on a visceral level.

    Personally, having serious lack of focus though a few 'serious' sets, I have everything from 500 BC-2020 modern crap.

    If everyone liked the same thing life would be boring, and things would never change. Not to mention prices would be more hideous than they already are on some things!

    #moderncrap
    combo f9f9f9.jpg

    #usedtobemoderncrap

    324 dadada.jpg
     
    lordmarcovan, ddddd and Chris B like this.
  11. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    I do have a funny rule that an NCLT commemorative design should tell us something or celebrate something about the country that issued the coin.

    So for example, that Egyptian-themed coin from Fiji would not work for me, though it would if it were from Egypt. Or if it were a Fijian coin with a Fijian theme.

    There's nothing wrong with celebrating someone else's culture (or pop culture) on your coins, but I prefer it when countries "stay in their lane", so to speak. I want a Chinese coin to look Chinese, and a coin from Oceania to have a native South Pacific theme, not a picture of JFK or a superhero, if you know what I mean.
     
    ddddd and Chris B like this.
  12. Chris B

    Chris B Supporter! Supporter

    Yes, there are some odd combinations out there. I have some stuff that doesn't make sense no matter how you look at it, such as the Fiji piece. I like anything with an Ancient Egypt theme. Going back to high school that was always my favorite part of history.
     
    lordmarcovan, ddddd and Stork like this.
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page