Part of the long-running Journey to the West commemorative series issued by the People's Bank of China, this coin draws from Wu Cheng'en's 16th-century novel — one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. The series ran across multiple years in the early 2000s, with individual releases tied to specific episodes from the pilgrimage narrative. Mintages on these issues were tightly controlled for the collector market, and the series has developed a secondary market well above face value in mainland China and among the diaspora.
KM#1497 corresponds to the "Ocean Pillar" episode, placing it among the more dramatically sourced entries in the run.
Part of the long-running Journey to the West commemorative series issued by the People's Bank of China, this coin draws from Wu Cheng'en's 16th-century novel — one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. The series ran across multiple years in the early 2000s, with individual releases tied to specific episodes from the pilgrimage narrative. Mintages on these issues were tightly controlled for the collector market, and the series has developed a secondary market well above face value in mainland China and among the diaspora.
KM#1497 corresponds to the "Ocean Pillar" episode, placing it among the more dramatically sourced entries in the run.