1 Yuan Weightlifting

Issued for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, this coin belongs to a sprawling commemorative program the People's Bank of China rolled out across multiple series and metals — gold, silver, and base metal — making the brass circulating issues by far the most accessible tier of the release. China's first Olympic Games as host generated an enormous domestic collector market, and these lower-denomination pieces circulated alongside purpose-struck examples, meaning wear is genuinely common on surviving examples.

Weightlifting had particular national resonance that year: Chinese athletes took gold in four of the eight weight categories at the Beijing Games.