SilverPete joins the Chinese medallion club

Discussion in 'Modern Chinese Coins & Medallions' started by SpacePete, Jun 28, 2016.

  1. SpacePete

    SpacePete Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    Look what you guys have done to me!

    A big thanks to AndreeLee for these gorgeous medals:

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  2. House

    House Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    Nice! Saw that one a was very tempted. What's the mintage?
     
  3. scrooged

    scrooged New Member

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    Ah yes, the old sit in amazement for all of 30 seconds, spend the rest of your life wondering what the f*ck am I ever going to do with this.

    Nice coin Pete.
     
  4. SpacePete

    SpacePete Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    Actually, I have no idea what the mintage is! I don't know much, I was a Chinese medal virgin until today.
     
  5. Stark

    Stark Active Member Silver Stacker

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    Welcome to our ranks!;) When it comes to medals Chinese have no competition.;)

    It's seems that planned mintage for 90mm is 1000, but I guess actual is lower. I would like to get "bird lizard" as well.:)
     
  6. yennus

    yennus Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    Welcome to this side of the forum SilverPete - a pleasure to have you among us :)

    Congratz on your medals!
     
  7. KeepOnTrying!

    KeepOnTrying! Member

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    I am collecting this series for its educational value. When complete I'll slab them together or place the four individual slabs in a display case and place on the mantlepiece.

    Welcome to the Chinese medal world. A lot of artwork and innovation go into crafting these medals.

    Buy what you like and learn from your mistakes!
     
  8. mmissinglink

    mmissinglink Active Member

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    You entered this most discerning club with two wonderful medals....neither of which I own....yet. So, I say "welcome" with a tiny bit of jealousy! :)


    Seriously though, I'm way more happy that you are in and I appreciate that you have shared some excellent photos of these medals....possibly the most enticing photos of these two medals that I've ever seen.

    I still find it amazing that such fine detail and such high relief is actually the result of pressing a hefty slab of hard metal under extreme pressure....albeit probably many times just for one medal. As Stark stated, there seems to be no current competition out there in terms of such incredible techniques. That's not to say that no Western mint has ever produced such high relief....just not in a very long time and certainly not on any sort of regular basis like a few of the established Chinese mints do.

    I fell in love with Chinese medals not because I could flip them the next day for a huge profit, but rather because of the exquisite craftsmanship and high quality and the interesting subjects skillfully and artistically designed / depicted / sculpted / minted.

    Also importantly, there are no significant limitations or ridiculous and onerous requirements with Chinese medals but there are plenty of limitations and requirements with coins including them having to depict royalty front and center on coins of the (British) Commonwealth of Nations as just one of many examples.

    Medals represent freedom....coins represent strict restrictions and regiment.


    Enjoy the new freedom, silverpete!



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  9. mmissinglink

    mmissinglink Active Member

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  10. Gatito Bandito

    Gatito Bandito Active Member

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    LOL :lol:


    At least for me, that amazement lasts a lot more than 30 seconds..


    Sexy high-relief Chinese medals continue to be a part of my collection/stack that I'm quite fond of, long after initial purchase, and would be proud to show them off to a non-stacker.

    Ain't nothing out there like 'em. The rest of the mints around world need to get their sh|t together..
     
  11. Gatito Bandito

    Gatito Bandito Active Member

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    Correct: Both have a planned mintage of 1K..

    Actual final mintage? Who knows.


    For reference, the Mammoth in 64g Ag has a planned mintage of 500, but an actual of only 380.

    Will there be more, possibly up to & including the whole 500? Again, who knows..
     
  12. Gatito Bandito

    Gatito Bandito Active Member

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    There's no turning back now!


    So, SP.. What did you order as your 2nd purchase? :lol:
     
  13. Gatito Bandito

    Gatito Bandito Active Member

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    The only thing that rivals the Mammoth (and with the 90mm, I can only imagine), is poured art..
     
  14. Stark

    Stark Active Member Silver Stacker

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    At the time of writing I only found for 90 mm.;)
     
  15. Gatito Bandito

    Gatito Bandito Active Member

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    Understood.

    Just using it as a reference.. 380 out 500 minted = 76% produced.


    Will at least 760 of these 90mm'ers eventually be minted?

    Might be a bit of a stretch.. Obviously depends on demand, as well as sponsors' cash levels & risk appetite.


    But good chance that large brass won't end up seeing that kind of percentage, IMO.

    Heck, maybe not even the nominal amount of 380..
     
  16. SpacePete

    SpacePete Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    Now that's a very good question :)
     
  17. mmissinglink

    mmissinglink Active Member

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    Excellent reply, Gatito.

    It doesn't even make sense to me that anyone would buy Chinese medals like the one's SilverPete has showcased here, seeing them in hand, understanding the incredible amount of labor and hard work that goes into designing, sculpting, pressing, and finishing these medals, having them shipped hundreds if not thousands of miles, and knowing the mintages are very small.....for only a 30 second thrill. That's just not the way it goes in the real world for most people.

    Every time I have held one of my Chinese medals in hand, no matter how many months or years after it was purchased, I get the same sense of awe and appreciation for the aesthetic and technical high quality of them.



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  18. Gatito Bandito

    Gatito Bandito Active Member

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    Welp, if you want to try to play catch-up, while also grabbing current issues, I certainly don't envy you.. :p

    Been there, done that. It was fun, but once was enough.


    The Chinese didn't invent high-relief, obviously..

    Stuff from them in this vein had really started catching fire around 2010/2011, so you don't have to go *too* far back. But precursors began to "pop up" as early as 2002, that I can see.


    If budget were no object, I could see myself easily grabbing another 15-20 medals right now.. :eek:

    But happy with where I am.. Definitely took a while, though. Can pretty much coast these days, mainly focusing on current issues that catch my eye as they're released.


    You've possibly got a long journey ahead of yourself!

    Choose your battles wisely. You want to be able to look back someday & say that you would still make every single purchase if you had to do it over again.

    And there's plenty out there for all types of collectors, with all kinds of tastes & budgets..


    Congrats on finally graduating from virgin to rookie.. ;)
     
  19. mmissinglink

    mmissinglink Active Member

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    Good comments Gatito.

    I certainly don't have anywhere near the amount of modern Chinese medals that I'd like to own. I think the same could be said for most Chinese medal fans or enthusiasts.

    I do have doubles of a few that I particularly like, such as the Xi-Shi Holding A Pearl and the 2012 120mm brass Snake Dance medal.

    I don't think this is so unusual having doubles of a few of the numismatic items we really like. If the market takes an upturn and the value of Chinese medals sees an overall increase, I could sell one and keep the other.

    That said of course, the money spent on acquiring the double could have been spent on acquiring a different medal altogether. But sometimes you also get a better deal (including saving a little on shipping from China) when buying more than 1 medal per order instead of buying 1 medal now and 1 month later a different medal.

    I suppose the smart way for those who are in the U.S. or in a bordering country is to check out www.ChineseMedals.com or contact Barsenault and buy from he and Andy. It's always nice to pay as little for shipping as possible. Every penny saved on shipping is a penny that can go toward the next medal.



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  20. Gatito Bandito

    Gatito Bandito Active Member

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    So is he hooked yet? I'm still waiting for my roo ride..
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    Somebody slap a diaper on this kid, or it ain't happening!
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