Our catalog presents other types with this special finish, namely the 1979 Year of the Child 35 Yuan, the 1984 Olympics Volleyball 10 Yuan and the 1986 World Cup Soccer 5 Yuan, but the downhill skier surpasses all of these in rarity. Each of these three types had a special mintage of 1,000 pieces struck using the special matte finish process, however the Downhill Skier type is believed to only have had about 20 pieces struck as patterns with an estimated 15 pieces still in existence. To put this type’s rarity into perspective, recently another numismatist and I were chatting with some acquaintances with decades of experience in the field of Chinese modern coinage. When we mentioned this piece neither of them could recall having ever seen one or having heard of one for sale and both were eager to see what it brought in the sale.
With only a few weeks to go before our sale, excitement and interest are building at a thrilling pace. Catalogs are arriving to mailboxes and the entire sale can be viewed at Stacksbowers.com so be sure to take a peek at this modern rarity. With its gorgeous satin finish and near perfect appearance it is absolutely deserving of its grade of PCGS PROOF-69 and would be a handsome addition to any modern collection.
