Modern Chinese Varieties: 2000 Proof Gold 10Y Colorized Lunar Dragon

This month we will look at the 2000 Proof Gold 10 Yuan colorized lunar dragon coin that can be found with either a short or long form of the character “Chen” located on the reverse of the coin. The coin is struck as a Proof with a mintage of 30,000.

The coin pictured below is an example of the character Chen in the short form. A close up appears on the right detailing the short, top bar, of the character (Photos 1 & 2).

Reverse side of the coin with short Chen character (left) and close up image of short Chen character (right) Click images to enlarge.

The photos below show the other Chen variety, the long form. The photo to the right shows a close up of the upper bar that is “long” on this variety (Photos 3 & 4).

Reverse side of the coin with long Chen character (left) and close up image of long Chen character (right) Click images to enlarge.

Both examples share a common obverse (Photo 5) featuring the date, 2000, and the Five-Pavilion Bridge located in Yangzhou and dating back some 200 years to the Qing Dynasty.

Obverse side of a 2000 Gold 10Y Colorized Lunar Dragon coin Click image to enlarge.

Look for another interesting variety to be featured next month.