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10 Yuan Socrates
| Issuer | People's Republic of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1994 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 27 g |
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| Reverse description | Full-length figure of the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates stands in the centre, draped in a flowing robe, his right hand extended open in a gesture of discourse and his left hand holding the garment at his side. Behind him, classical Greek architectural columns and an arched portico frame a scene of figures gathered in philosophical assembly. The name SOCRATES arcs across the upper field in Latin characters, flanked on the left by the Chinese transliteration 苏格拉底 and on the right by the dates 公元前470-399 indicating his life span. The denomination 10元 appears in the lower left field. |
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| Mintage | 1994 - Proof - 20,000 |
| Additional information |
China's "Famous Men of Culture" silver series, issued through the 1990s, was an unusual exercise in state-sanctioned celebration of Western intellectual figures — unusual because the program was driven almost entirely by export demand from European and American collectors rather than any domestic commemorative purpose. Socrates appeared in the 1994 release alongside other classical thinkers, the coins sold primarily through foreign distributors and largely unseen inside China itself.
Mintages for this series were tightly controlled by the China Mint, and the 1994 issues were struck in comparatively modest numbers relative to the bullion issues of the same period.