Year of Spain in China
Introduction
The celebration of the "Year of Spain in China" during 2007 stems from an initiative that arose at the Second Spain-China Forum held in November 2004. The final decision was made during the visit to Spain of the President of China, Hu-Jintao, in November 2005.
The purpose is to strengthen ties of friendship and cooperation, to boost a reciprocal knowledge of the two countries and to revitalize institutional relations and financial activity.
The Spanish Royal Mint joins in the celebration of this important event by minting two collector coins featuring motifs dedicated to this significant event.
Details
Both coins reproduce on the reverse the original design from the Spanish piece-of-eight (the pillar dollar), a coin that in its day was universally accepted as legal tender and one that was much utilized in China with different counterstamps.
These coins may be acquired singly, each in its own coin case, or as the full set of two coins in a double coin case.
Name | Face Value | Weight | Diameter | Mint Run |
---|---|---|---|---|
Gold coin in .999 gold | 20 € | 1.24 g | 13.92 mm | 15.000 |
8-reales silver | 10 € | 27 g | 40 mm | 20.000 |
Gold coin in .999 gold
The obverse bears Spain's Constitutional coat-of-arms.
The reverse reproduces the Pillars of Hercules design with the "Plus Ultra" text and ocean waves beneath. The coin has been overstamped with Chinese characters displayed in a semicircle and reading "China Spain".
8-reales silver
The obverse portrays the overlapping effigies of Their Majesties the King and Queen.
The reverse is the same as that for the 20 euro coin except for the face value and the texts in Chinese characters that in this instance are displayed in columns, Spain on the right and China on the left.
Prices
Official retail price in Spain, excluding any relevant taxes:
The set
Case containing 2 coins - 125 Euros (*)
Individual coins
Gold coin in .999 gold - 85 Euros (**)
8-reales silver - 40 Euros
(*) Sets containing gold and silver coins: VAT will be applied only to the silver coins.
(**) Gold coin in .999 gold : exempt from VAT in EU member states.