100 Yuan 40th Anniversary of People's Republic

Issued in 1989, this coin's production calendar collided directly with the Tiananmen Square protests and subsequent crackdown of June that year. The 40th anniversary commemorative program had been planned well in advance, and the mint proceeded regardless — making this one of the few official celebratory issues from any government struck during an active domestic political crisis of that magnitude.

The .999 fine gold quarter-ounce format follows the People's Bank's established commemorative bullion structure introduced in the early 1980s, when China first entered the international collector-bullion market aggressively. Mintage for the anniversary gold issues was tightly controlled, with distribution handled primarily through the China National Numismatic Corporation.