These are priced at a whopping $2,500.00, and are very rare. 30 minted. Antique Copper and Brass. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFsAFUZqoWM[/youtube]
Holy fortune cookies, that's a lot of yuan! \ \ He could have rescued like 20 of us for that kind of dough.. \ \ \ \ I want to punch those stupid pandas in the face! \ \ \ \ \ \ I'm hungry.. When do we get ice cream? \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \
barsenault can't afford ice cream anymore.. Too many pricey medals. Seriously, barsenault.. good luck, my friend. And be careful. Deep in the rabbit hole of Chinese medals. Similar to old slabbed numismatics. Big money being thrown around. Can be good investments, but both can get a bit bubbly sometimes. Definitely have to know what you're doing, and be mindful of not getting too caught up in it all. Personally, I wouldn't spend that kind of money, except for maybe a couple ounces of gold. But, just me. I understand your knowledge & enthusiasm for this stuff is more than most, including myself, and that you have ties to even greater sources of knowledge & wisdom. I just think you're crazy. Sweet medals, though. Love the brass.
I agree with you 1000%. Folks buying Chinese medals, whether gold, silver, brass or copper, or antique whatever, MUST be very careful. As Frank Wang shared with me many times, 'Bob, do NOT fall into the mintage trap.' Frank is a well respected Chinese medals collector among those who collect medals. He is Chinese, lives in the U.S., but has many connections in China. He is from China. He has a blog. He has great articles. Remember, applied knowledge is power...get info, talk to folks, get advice, especially before chewing off $2,500 for a brass and copper medal. Please. Gatito, your words are wise ones. Trust me, you, and everyone else, I've done my homework, and I may appear dumb, but I ain't stupid. Here is Frank's blog. Lots of good info. http://modern-chinese-numismatic-info.blogspot.com/2014/12/why-medals.html
Nice article. Though I don't agree with this.. "With the help of grading companies, the risk of running into fake coins is greatly reduced if not totally eliminated, as long as one insists on buying graded specimens." [Bold mine] TPG slabs can be faked. Though there are certainly various things one can do to help prevent buying fake slabbed pieces. Not always, but in many cases, anyway.
Just because a medal / coin may be said to have X value, doesn't mean that a smart and educated consumer will have paid nearly as much for it. From what I understand, the new slabs are not so easy to fake. NGC has a page (if I remember correctly) dedicated to describing how their slabs are different from the fakes that are out there. As for rarity of a medal / coin, a coin or medal of very low mintage is not necessarily going to translate into a very high premium, but it is certainly a factor to consider....among other factors. << << There are 9 levels on the Sheldon-Breen rarity scale: (Remember, the number of coins below refer to estimates!) R-8: This is a unique coin; only 1 exists R-7 High: A coin that's excessively rare; 2 to 3 exist R-7 Low: An extremely rare coin with 4 to 12 remaining known R-6: A very rare coin with 13 to 30 known specimens R-5: 31 to 75 coins exist, classifying it as rare R-4: A very scarce coin with 76 to 200 examples left R-3: With 201 to 500 estimated pieces, this is a scarce coin R-2: A coin that is not common, with 501 to 1250 coins in existence R-1: With at least 1251 coins remaining, this is a common coin >> >> http://coins.thefuntimesguide.com/2010/04/rare_us_coins.php Alternatively, there are other rarity rating scales.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coin_grading .
And how about the current ones & older ones? Plenty of those still floating out there. And some fakes for both coins & slabs have gotten *good*! Already aware of it. And while helpful to collectors, also helpful to the counterfeiters, LOL. Just because one buys a slabbed coin, doesn't mean that risks are "totally eliminated." It's a nice article, and I'm sure the guy is quite knowledgeable.. Just that this particular statement popped out at me at being totally wrong.
The Nanjing two lovely pandas are cool medals, especially the brass and antiqued brass. Do you know if they were official issues, or were they commissioned by private parties to be struck by the Nanjing Mint?
Many forums of MCC and new registers members have asked and discussed the computer craved and commissioned by private parties of the china medal through official mints. I am not sure is this coincident or ???? Many china medals are commissioned by privates parties through official mints. This is no exceptional for the Tavalu, Cook Island and pacific Island coins. This is no secret of this matter and in question. Will majority of the collectors decide not to purchase those Pacific Island coins and China medals commissioned by private parties through official mints? If yes, It is a good discussion point. If no, this point raise here is ????. Those comments the modern china medal are all computer carved mould do not prove it in those forums. It is good to prove it rather than by saying it. I do not means any offense to anyone here. Just would like to know more. This is a photo download from China coin article. She is many coins and medal designer. She did design Panda goat. Computer software are used for design and aid BUT not computer craved the mould as my understand.
I believe that one of the reasons the Pagoda and Goldfish medals are not so popular now is the same thing we are beginning to see here: innuendos, highly subjective characterizations and plain old hatchet work in action. I guess its back to the same old "if you can't join them beat them". But what is the problem here?
Keke true this remind me as when I join the CMC and read all old thread. Frank Wong and alies (well know collector in china) did clarify many questions and doubt of the GreatWall, Pagoda and gold fish medal. However, many still not accept the reasoning, facts and evident. I like alies point "BUT NOT KNOWING SAYING IS FAKE IS NOT GOOD". I am still learning and obtain knowledge from expert. I might slowly start to chase bad old cmc coin or Europe old coin and medal as when I acquire the knowledge. I did pay a pain tuition fee of buying some junk in my early stage and feel it is great deal. At the times, I do not list my factors of judging a buying. Just buy whatever in the market.
That kid is spooking me out, man. I believe that buying a medal that you really appreciate the beauty of it and buying a medal as an investment are two different approaches. I think it's best to separate the two ways of thinking because some times, the medals that may be the most beautiful aren't always going to be the best investment. That said, there are of course some medals that are beautiful works or art and have also turned out to be a good investment. A medal can be both but I definitely don't buy a medal with the intention of wanting to buy something very beautiful AND wanting it to be a great investment. If a beautiful medal happens to some day be highly desirable and gains a significant premium, then that's cool icing on the cake in my view. I see medals and coins a little differently because they are different types of products. For me, a medal has always been something I buy because I like the design....not because I see it as an investment product. Therefore for me, I actually don't care that a medal may or may not become very valuable a few months or years down the road....that's not why I am buying Chinese medals in the first place. Would I be upset and cry if the beautiful Chinese medals I buy today gain decent or even significant premiums over the years? Of course not...but at the same time I won't cry and get upset if they don't because to me the thinking is about getting something to collect that is beautiful and can be appreciated for a very long time. I have no intentions of flipping my medals....that's not why I buy them. If I do sell a medal, it would be because it is a second medal I own and I am helping a friend acquire a medal that is difficult to find. .
