Every year, German numismatic magazine ranks the coins issued in the world by poll. The competition, which began in 1988, differs from the Claus World Coin Contest in that every year, German numismatic magazine selects the ten most popular coins from around the world, ranked by the number of votes received. Being among the German numismatic magazine's annual "Top 10 World Coins" is also a great honor in the world numismatic world. For the first time, the Chinese gold and silver coins won the German numismatic magazine's annual "Top 10 Coins" of the year, the 1989 Panda Gold, Silver, Platinum and Palladium Commemorative Coin 1 oz. round silver commemorative coin, which ranked seventh in the 1989 "Top 10 Coins in the World".
This coin is China's first silver Panda coin, and it has the most unique design: a memorable grid in the background, with a central depiction of a panda with a small head and a young bamboo, munching on the rest. This adorable panda image was designed by Luo Yonghui, a senior arts and crafts master at the Shanghai Mint (the predecessor of Shanghai Mint Co., Ltd.).
When Luo Yonghui talked about the design of this panda coin, he once said with emotion: When we started to design the panda gold coin, we did not realize how far the panda gold coin could go in this field, but we were very excited and curious, especially the production of the intaglio method, which solved the difficult problem of how to distinguish the black and white of the panda. After 5, 6, 7 years, designing the gold panda coin gradually became a burden. I can't get out of the feeling, there is only a change in posture, but no change in essence. If you continue to do this, who will look at it after 100 years of being a panda, and at that time there is no value on the panda coin that makes people feel excited and recognized. Panda Gold Coin is not easy to make, it is very difficult to do, and it is time to find a better solution.
When designing the 1989 Gold Panda coin, the first thing to do was to make a fuss about the shape of the panda. This version of the Panda coin is really designed to be too expressive and interesting, the four-fold sitting posture, the relationship between the head, the limbs of the body and the trunk is slightly handled, the clumsy and cute state of the panda is completely displayed in front of our eyes, while appreciating the panda gold and silver coins, it is also brought into its ideological activities, following its busy antics, eating fresh bamboo, into its inner world. The biggest advantage of this anthropomorphic treatment is that we no longer just see the panda as a precious animal, but as a little friend and good friend that we get along with day and night. In addition to the shape of bamboo leaves with rough edges and long branches, two quietly raised bamboo shoots are specially designed on the side of the panda, which is funny and creates a wild atmosphere of nature. In the design of this edition of the Panda coin, an art of balance is adopted, which is not only the balance and stability of the form and action, but also reflects the wisdom of life and the philosophy of life of the Chinese nation in pursuit of the balance of moderation.
In addition to the panda motsal, the most distinctive design of this coin is the addition of a grid in the background, which is intended to give the coin a more design-like appearance. Such an orderly line layout and the cute panda image form a strong contrast from the state, and the visual effect will look very special. Moreover, the addition of these lines is not only for the sake of aesthetics, but also poses a challenge to the processing technology. Don't underestimate these lines, each line is a line that can be compared. One of our coin products, starting from the design, the clay type turned to the gypsum type, and then the copper type, the engraving machine engraving the original mold, turning the working mold, the whole process from the beginning of the relief to the end of the mold, there is the possibility of deformation at any time.
Luo Yonghui particularly emphasized, don't underestimate these patterns, the patterns are high and low, the density is different, from wet to dry, and gypsum is likely to be uneven, so after solidification, it may produce uneven planes. Even if it is flat, when it comes to the steel mold in the later stage, it will be affected by the processing process, and the uneven quality of the material itself will also cause unevenness. After all kinds of unevenness in the process, add up, and then grind on the mold, because of its unevenness, some places will be ground more, and some places will be ground less, so it may cause inconsistency in the thickness of the line. If it is a general collector, it may just feel that adding a few lines is to add a little effect visually, but the challenge of craftsmanship at that time was still quite large.
It is precisely because of the innovation in design and craftsmanship that this coin has earned it the honor of "Top 10 Best Coins in the World".
Source: China Gold Coin Network
Author: Li Yun