I'm excited about this new medal coming out... I don't have any other details apart from what was written in this month's Pricepedia. 5oz Gold Panda: 36 1oz Gold Panda: 570 1oz Silver Panda: 5773 "The medals honor the humanitarian efforts of the Chinese people in World War II to save the lives of refugees from Nazi persecution in Europe." (Peter Anthony)
Received this message re this medal set. **** Today I did speak to a senior shanghai mint medal expert regarding the medals you mentioned. He said according to the mintage, it should not be an official product from shanghai mint. Some private company or persons can go to shanghai mint and ask the mint to make some special medals for them and with shanghai mint's logo on the medal. And he said he doesn't know this medal set at all. That is the info I got... Take care and good luck ****
The medal is designed at and by the Shanghai Mint, approved by the Mint and struck there. Given that background I consider it an official Shanghai release but not a product of China Gold Coin Incorporation. I'm not surprised the person you spoke to hasn't heard about it. Its development and approval was a pretty interesting process that touched on considerations beyond normal numismatics. For a variety of reasons this medal could turn out to be quite special. I'm not aware of anything in recent Chinese numismatic history like it and I'm rather amazed that it has survived the journey. In the coming weeks there will be more about it in China Pricepedia, World Coin News and probably some major newspapers. Best wishes, Peter Anthony China Pricepedia www.pandacollector.com
"Its development and approval was a pretty interesting process that touched on considerations beyond normal numismatics." Thanks Pandacollector, I definitely think it would have touched on considerations beyond normal numismatics. The story of how thousands of Jews were saved in Shanghai during WWII is a fascinating (and heart warming) tale. Which carries a great legacy today and into the future.
