5 Yuan Unicorn

China's Unicorn series launched in 1994 as a direct competitor to established bullion programs from the West, targeting collectors rather than investors — which is why the platinum pieces were struck in fractional weights with comparatively low mintages. The 1996 issue was produced at a moment when Chinese precious metal coin programs were expanding aggressively into international markets, with state-owned China Gold Coin Corporation controlling distribution through a tight network of authorized dealers that kept secondary market premiums stubbornly high for years.

Platinum unicorn coins from this period are notoriously difficult to attribute accurately; several weight denominations share obverse dies, and catalog references diverge between KM and Y numbering on composition details for the 1.5552g fraction specifically.