100 Euro Gold of China Coin P
The Golden Dragon Symbolising a brilliant destiny more than anything else, gold stood for both worldly and spiritual wealth in ancient China, as seen in the country’s golden Buddha statues and gilded pagodas. Sometimes made of gold, the dragon is the Chinese mythical creature par excellence. In its five-clawed form, the dragon stood alone for the power and responsibility of the emperors who, to ensure a bountiful harvest, enlisted the help of this amazing creature. Sometimes as small as a silkworm, sometimes as huge as the space between heaven and earth, the dragon rides on the clouds and can make itself invisible. Chinese culture has always been fascinated by dragons and the same can be said of the most precious of precious metals. The earliest gold-decorated artefacts date back to the Shang dynasty (circa 1500 to 1050 BC). During the Tang period (618 to 907 AD), trade flourished via the Silk Road and gold was omnipresent, both in art and trade. The emperors of the Qing dynasty (1644 to 1911 AD) decorated the imperial palace in Beijing with valuable golden objects such as golden celestial globes, gold-plated measuring instruments for stargazing and mechanical golden clocks. Travel back in time on a gleaming golden dragon and connect with the myths of ancient China. In the case of *The Gold of China* coin, all that glitters is indeed gold. Coin Motif A dragon breaks through the clouds in the background of the coin’s obverse. It symbolises the son of heaven, the emperor, who is depicted in the foreground. At the bottom right is the Chinese character for gold, opposite which is a peony, symbolising nobility. The reverse of the coin is modelled on the gilded *Medallion with Five-Clawed Imperial Dragon in the Clouds*, from the Qianlong period (1736 to 1795), which is in the collection of the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna.