20 Yuan Mogao Grotto - Buddha-like statue

Issued as part of China's ongoing Dunhuang Mogao Caves commemorative series, this 2001 two-ounce silver piece belongs to a program that ran across multiple years and denominations, drawing international collector attention to one of the world's largest Buddhist cave complexes — a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. The caves along the Silk Road near Dunhuang housed art produced continuously from the 4th through the 14th century, surviving largely because the region's extreme aridity preserved pigment and plaster that would have deteriorated elsewhere.

The People's Bank of China produced this series in relatively modest quantities, keeping secondary market premiums firm since initial release.