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1 Yuan Pattern, Memento: Birth of the Republic, gold
| Issuer | Republic of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1912-1927 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Yuan = 1 Dollar |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Left-facing draped bust of Sun Yat-sen, founder of the Republic of China, depicted in military collar within a raised beaded inner circle. Eight Chinese ideograms are arranged in two arcs: the upper arc reading 中華民國 (Republic of China) and the lower arc reading 開國紀念幣 (Founding Commemorative Coin). Decorative floral sprays occupy the left and right fields between the inner and outer borders. The coin is finished with a fine milled rim and an outer beaded border. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Reeded |
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| Additional information |
The "Memento" dollars — so called from the Latin inscription referencing the founding of the Republic — were struck not as circulating currency but as presentation pieces, likely distributed to officials and foreign dignitaries during the early Republican period. Gold examples occupy an altogether different category from their silver counterparts: almost certainly struck in very small numbers, possibly to order, with no documented official mintage figure surviving.
The absent L&M reference is telling. Eduard Kann's cataloguing of Chinese gold coinage was exhaustive, making his inclusion here — Kann#1553 — the primary anchor for this type's legitimacy and rarity ranking.