Catalog
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| Issuer | People's Bank of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 2005 |
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| Value | 10 Yuan (10元, 拾圓) |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse presents a vivid colorized relief composition illustrating the episode 'Three Times Borrowing the Banana Leaf Fan' (三調芭蕉扇) from the classic novel Journey to the West. Sun Wukong, depicted in his transformed guise, confronts Princess Iron Fan, who is shown holding the magical fan with flowing ribbons. Both figures are rendered in bright polychrome enameling against a white silver field with stylized cloud motifs. The denomination 10元 appears in the upper right field, and the descriptive legend 三調芭蕉扇 is inscribed along the lower rim. |
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| Edge | Reeded |
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| Additional information |
The 2005 "Journey to the West" series was part of a broader push by the People's Bank of China to issue themed bullion and commemorative silver in formats aimed squarely at the international collector market — a strategy that expanded aggressively through the 2000s. The classic Ming dynasty novel by Wu Cheng'en, written in the 16th century, provided the subject matter across multiple years and denominations, making individual annual releases distinguishable primarily by which episode or character grouping was selected for that issue.
KM#1636 corresponds to one installment within a multi-coin series; collectors assembling complete sets frequently encounter gaps at specific issues where secondary market availability dried up early.