1000 Yuan Year of the Horse

The 1990 Chinese Lunar Gold series 1000 Yuan kilo piece was produced at a moment when the People's Bank of China was aggressively expanding its bullion program to attract foreign hard currency — a priority sharpened considerably by the economic isolation that followed the Tiananmen Square crackdown in June 1989. Mintages on these kilo issues were kept extremely low, typically in the hundreds rather than thousands.

The Horse year holds particular commercial appeal in Southeast Asian and overseas Chinese markets, historically driving secondary-market premiums above comparable lunar issues.