The Nezha is the first in Chad’s new ‘Fengshen Yanyi’ copper-cored coin series

It looks like the copper-cored technique of coin fabrication first brought to market by Precious Metal Collectors, is spreading with the launch of a new coin from World Coin Appreciation. We’ve covered quite a few of these in the past, but for those unaware, it involves the covering of a large copper planchet with a thin layer of silver. The end result is a coin that looks silver, but is huge in relation to the quantity of it employed.

A good example is this one. A 20 gram silver coin is usually sub-35 mm in diameter and has little or no high-relief. Because of the way this coin is made up, that 20 grams of silver is wrapped around 4.5 ounces of copper, so not only has lashings of high-relief on both faces, but is an impressive 60 mm in diameter.

Chinese mythology has become a popular subject on coins over the last half decade or so, and there have been some outstanding designs in the genre from such companies as Numiscollect, MintXXI, and the Mint of Poland, as well as the aforementioned PMC. New releases have a hard time on their hands getting noticed, but this new release from World Coin Appreciation, a Chinese producer that mainly does business in its homeland, appears to hold up very well.

Nezha has appeared on a coin from Numiscollect before, and the six-armed deity that carries weapons in all of them, is a very distinctive choice. The depiction here is a masterclass in ordered chaos, completely awash in a myriad of tiny details and layered depth. Like many in this genre, it’s antique finished and has some well placed and appropriate gilded elements. We like it.

The obverse is a good one as well, Apparently showing the raging waters lapping at the walls of Chentangguan, it also exhibits a skillful use of depth. No gilding on this side, which is fine as there seems no place to put it that needs it. The coin comes in a floating frame and with a Certificate of Authenticity. The mintage is set at 500 pieces.

All in, a really nice design, but one you’ll likely find hard to get hold of. Any dealers selling WCA coins outside of China can drop us a line and we’ll add links in our article. We’d imagine only a few will make the journey outside of China’s borders, which seems a shame.