WMF ’23: Art Mint maintains its reputation for graceful design with its Chinese Dragon Art coin

Art Mint have always had a catalogue filled with a mix of the unusual, and the classic. The latter has been particularly well handled by their beautiful ‘Mandala Art’ range, now on its ninth release, and their new coin issue for the World Money Fair in Berlin, is very much of a similar ethos, although it definitely isn’t a geometric mandala. This is a very pretty piece of Chinese Dragon art, with an expert use of high relief to depict the slim, four-legged dragon.

In the centre, as is traditional for the region, sits a flaming pearl, represented by a polished piece of jasper, This siliceous mineral comes in a huge range of colours, but white is an obvious choice if you’re aping a pearl. The gilded coin is slightly different, but more on that later. Also, sitting at the major compass points, are another four jasper stones. It’s a clever mix of the chaotic dragon, and the ordered placement of the stones. It’s actually inspired by an original Qing dynasty (736-1795) medallion, so is obviously faithful to that style.

This one is another that tips the scales at two-ounces, and is also struck in fine silver. It has a very clean and simple border that perfectly frames the complex design, and carries the engraved serial number. As for numbers, there are only 200 in the antique finish, and 50 when fully gilded, complete with its enhanced contrast red jasper stones. They look quite different, despite having the same design. For me, the antiqued coin has it, just, but we can see many yearning after the gilded coin as well. It comes boxed with a Certificate of Authenticity, A gorgeous release.