China marks 40 years of polar exploration with commemorative coins
The People's Bank of China (PBOC), China's central bank, will issue a set of commemorative coins celebrating the country's polar exploration efforts on April 17th, 2024, to mark the 40th anniversary of China's first polar scientific expedition, according to the PBOC's website
The set will include a gold coin and a silver coin, both of which will be round and legal tender in China.
The obverse side of the coins will feature the national emblem, the country's name, and the year of issuance.
The reverse side of the gold coin will showcase pictures of penguins and China's polar icebreaker Xuelong. It will also include a combination of images depicting a partial map of the Antarctic with dots indicating the locations of China's five Antarctic research stations, a fixed-wing aircraft for polar flight, and Chinese characters reading "The 40th Anniversary of China's First Polar Expedition," as well as the coin's denomination.
The silver coin's reverse design will primarily feature the country's research icebreaker Xuelong 2, a scene of Chinese scientists extracting ice core samples, and a polar bear. Images of a partial Arctic map with dots representing China's two Arctic research stations, the aurora borealis, Chinese characters reading "The 40th Anniversary of China's First Polar Expedition," and the coin's denomination will also appear on the reverse side.
The gold coin will have a face value of 100 Yuan ($13) and a maximum mintage of 10,000 pieces. It will contain 8 grammes of pure gold and measure 22 millimetres in diametre.
The silver coin will have a diameter of 40 millimetres and a face value of 10 Yuan. It will contain 30 grammes of pure silver, and its maximum mintage will be 50,000 pieces.
