World Coin Appreciation debuts a trio of skateboard coins sporting beautiful 900 year old Chinese art
Wang Ximeng was a Chinese painter from the Northern Song Dynasty, born in 1096 in Kaifeng, China, and dying just 23 years later, leaving behind a sparse body of work. However, that work left an enduring legacy in the world of Chinese art, even though only a single piece survives to this day. His masterpiece was called ‘A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains’ . This monumental landscape painting is celebrated for its meticulous detail and breathtaking scale, capturing the essence of China’s natural beauty.
Painted on a scroll, 51.5 x 1191.5 cm in size, it was dated to 113, when Wang Ximeng was just 18 years old. Painted in the blue-green landscape technique of the Sui and Tang dynasties, using azurite and malachite colours, it depicts the mountains and rivers of China in such an outstanding, and unique way, its brilliance was recognised at that time, and it has remained revered for almost a millennium since. It currently resides in the Palace Museum, in Beijing.
World Coin Appreciation has chosen a quite unusual way to feature the work, putting three sections of it on the reverse face of a two-ounce silver skateboard. It’s certainly an unusual way to show off this painting, but you can see the reasoning when you realise the original is almost 25 times wider than it is tall, and skateboards are known for their use of art.
The artwork looks outstanding on the coin, but you will certainly have to decide if the plastic wheels are a positive, or a negative. The whole thing is quirky enough to get away with it, we think. The coin comes presented in a windowed display box, and the wheels vary in colour. A video shows one with blue undercarriage, but the images we have of the three designs just show red and green. They may be random.
It is randomisation that is the most contentious issue with this release. The mintage of the three designs combined is set at 199 pieces. The number of each design within that number is apparently not equal. The killer for us is that you don’t know which design you will receive. We hate this idea. Just let people choose what one they want, as they may well want all three. Currently, if you buy three, you might get the same design three times. We’re seeing this idea creep into numismatics lately, and we’re not fans at all. Otherwise, a very original release.
| SPECIFICATION | |
| DENOMINATION | $2 NZD (Niue) |
| COMPOSITION | 62.2 g of 0.999 silver |
| DIMENSIONS | 98.0 x 29.0 mm |
| FINISH | Antique |
| MODIFICATIONS | Coloured, Skateboard wheels |
| MINTAGE | 199 total |
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