50 Yuan Unicorn

China's Unicorn series launched in 1994 as a direct competitor to established bullion programs from the West, targeting the collector market rather than pure bullion buyers. The five-ounce silver format was designed from the outset for display and prestige — mintages were kept deliberately low, and the series was discontinued after only a few years, which has since driven secondary market premiums well above melt.

KM#679 is among the more actively traded of the early Unicorn issues, partly because 1994 fell before the series established a predictable collector base, meaning original distribution was uneven across export markets.