Quality control for coins and medals always requires tests before production begins. With the die mounted in the coin press a handful of examples are struck onto blank planchets. A still-hot sample is placed in a thick, soft cloth for colleagues to inspect. The machinery is then adjusted, often by minute amounts, and the process repeated. I once asked a Chinese official, “What happens to these?” “Oh, they get melted,” was the reply.
Not always, though. Decades ago, the China Mint sometimes sent samples to key distributors. Circumstances could turn these into legendary rarities. An example is the 1989 Dragon and Phoenix coins project. One participant, Ellen W., recalls, “The idea and the concept for the Dragon and Phoenix coin program came from our partner in the program. As a child, he was a passionate collector of ancient Chinese coins. He also had a large collection of rare Chinese paintings. One day back in 1988 I got a phone call, ‘Do you have Year of the Dragon coins? OK, I'll fly to Los Angeles tomorrow and buy your entire inventory.’ This was a large amount of coins and that is how we met.”
“He was very creative and kept coming up with ideas. He suggested a Dragon and Phoenix coin program. At the beginning of 1989, we signed a contract with China Gold Coin, Inc., to produce these.”
“In those days, the mint would always strike sample coins, or trial strike coins, or whatever you want to call them. These were dated 1989, but we didn’t actually see the samples until 1990. The coins were beautiful and we loved them, but we requested to change the date because the program was only getting launched in 1990. The mint agreed.”
“So, a few sample coins were struck with 1989 dates on them. These were: 1g gold, 2g silver, 2-ounce gold and 2-ounce silver. There were two more sizes in the program, 20-ounce gold and 20-ounce silver. I cannot recall any trial strikes of the 20-ounce coins, but I know they struck samples of the smaller ones.”
“You never knew for sure what the totals were, because there was never an official statement, but in my recollection, I have seen four of the 2-ounce silver samples. I have heard that perhaps six were struck and that is probably as many as there could be.”
“The 1g gold and 2g silver coins were intended for the jewelry market. Many were put into bezels and not sold to coin collectors. It’s possible that a few more samples of each of those were struck in 1989, but the total should be 10 pieces, or less, of each. Some 1989s were put into bezels. So, however many of the 1g gold and 2g silver trial strikes still exist they are not all in perfect condition.”
A 2-ounce gold Dragon and Phoenix coin dated 1989 has auctioned for $408,000. Also at auction, a 2-ounce silver Dragon and Phoenix coin dated 1989 brought $85,031, and a 2g silver 1989 Dragon and Phoenix sold for $28,680.