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| Dollar Silver coin commemorating the founding of the Republic of China |
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| Sun Yat Sen "Memento" Dollar Silver Coin |
Chinese coins, Chinese currencies, Chinese silver dollars, Chinese silver dollar coins, Chinese Numismatics
Obverse: Bust of Sun Yat Sen left, flanked by flowers in outer fields. Chinese characters above and below.
Reverse: Denomination within wreath. Rosettes splitting legends in English around.
Legend: BIRTH OF REPUBLIC CHINA * MEMENTO *
Reference: L&M-49, Kann-608, Y-318a.1.
Weight: 26.42 gram of .890 fine Silver
Diameter: 39 mm
The Chinese character min (民), which means “people”, is written is a very unusual manner. The character can be seen at about the 11 o’clock position on the coin.
The Chinese have the expression “to go out the head” (chu tou 出头) which means “lift one’s head” or “free oneself”. Just as the character is written with a stroke “going out the head”, the implied meaning is that the Chinese people should free themselves from the past thousands of years of imperial rule.
Also, at both the 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock positions, are five-petal flowers representing the plum blossom. The plum flower is a traditional symbol of courage and hope and also refers to the “five blessings”. While it would later become the national flower, here it symbolizes the “Five-Power Constitution” advocated by Dr. Sun Yat-sen. The five powers or branches of government included the legislative yuan, executive yuan, judicial yuan, examination yuan and censorate (control) yuan.
Reverse side of Sun Yat-sen "Memento" Coin
The reverse side of the coin has the denomination “one yuan” (壹圓) written vertically in the middle.
Representations of grains, such as the ears of wheat, are on both sides. Dr. Sun Yat-sen wanted the new coin to display the “five cereals” or “five grains” (wugu 五谷) to signify the importance of agriculture and the hope that the Chinese people would have enough to eat.
Below the ears of wheat are rice plants signifying a bountiful harvest. Above the rice are three leaves. The three leaves are meant to represent the Three People’s Principles” (Nationalism, Democracy and the People’s Livelihood) as advocated by Dr. Sun Yat-sen.
At the 2 o’clock and 10 o’clock positions are six-sided stars. Previously struck Chinese coins often displayed stars of various shapes but they were usually placed on the obverse side. On this coin, the stars were placed on the reverse side in order to distinguish it as a “new” type of coin for the newly established government.