300 Yuan Bronze Ware

Part of China's annual Bronze Ware commemorative series, this kilogram silver issue draws on the Shang and Western Zhou dynasties — roughly 1600 to 771 BC — when Chinese ritual bronzes reached a technical and artistic peak unmatched in the ancient world. The series was designed partly to assert institutional legitimacy for China's archaeological heritage at a moment when looted bronzes were commanding record prices at international auction, a politically sensitive situation that prompted official cultural programming throughout the 2000s and into the 2010s.

Mintages for kilogram issues in this series were tightly controlled, rarely exceeding a few thousand pieces.