2011 Chinese Outlaws of the Marsh Silver Coins Issued

The latest Chinese Outlaws of the Marsh silver commemorative coins have been issued by the People’s Bank of China. Like the previous two releases in the program, the new coins are struck from 99.9% pure silver and are produced to both round and rectangular sizes.

These 2011 commemorative coins feature reverses emblematic of the characters and stories found in the famous Chinese novel Outlaws of the Marshes. The reverses are featured with colored enhancements to highlight the design details.

Silver Coins – Designs, Images, Specifications and Mintage Limits

In total, four 2011 silver commemorative coins were issued as part of the series. The first is composed of one ounce of the precious metal. Featured in a traditional round format, the Little Li Guang Hua Rong Silver Coin showcases a scene where the handsome youth is depicted exhibiting his skill as an archer. The mintage cap listed for this strike is 70,000 with each featuring a diameter of 40mm and a 10 Yuan face value.

The Black Whirlwind Li Kui Silver Coin features the same specifications as the previously mentioned strike including a round format, 40mm diameter, 10 Yuan face value and a mintage limit of 70,000. However, the reverse of this coin depicts the muscular Li Kui visiting his mother and carrying her on his back.

The Yanqing Zhi Silver Coin is struck from five ounces of the white metal. It shows Yanq Zhi (also known as the Blue Faced Beast) fighting an opponent. This coin is rectangular in shape with a dimension of 80mm by 50mm and features a 50 Yuan face value and a mintage cap of 12,000.

Issued as the largest release in the commemorative coin series is the Qiju Zhong Yi Tong Silver Coin. It depicts many characters from the book on its reverse and is struck to a round format from one kilogram of .999 fine silver. The large strike features a face value of 300 Yuan with a diameter of 100mm with a mintage limit of just 10,000 coins.

The Outlaws of the Marshes is considered one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature. The collection of stories dates back hundreds of years and also goes by the names of Water Margin, All Men Are Brothers, Men of the Marshes, or The Marshes of Mount Liang. The stories are based on a group of 108 outlaws who banded together to create an army.

Recognizing the power of that army, the government persuaded the leaders to work for the good of the people. The army helped to defend the country from rebels and foreign invaders.

The commemorative coins are the third installment of the series which debuted two years ago. Previous releases showcased different individuals from the stories. Also available are gold versions of the commemoratives.

The new releases are issued by the People’ Bank of China (www.pbc.gov.cn) and are available now through authorized distributors of one of the Bank’s branches, the China Gold Coin Incorporation.