Rare gold coins on display

A pair of rare gold coins worth at least US$1.3 million will be on display to the public this weekend in Shanghai. Admission is free.

Made by Shenyang Mint in northeast China in 1992, the coins were designed by Marty Weiss, an American entrepreneur who was inspired by China's four great inventions.

Weiss was reading a book about the invention of gun powder, paper making, printing and the compass while at the airport in Hong Kong in 1990.

The subject of ancient science in China fascinated him to such an extent that he decided to commemorate the achievements with gold coins.

The mint made 17 one-kilogram gold coins. The front of 10 coins feature the Great Wall while the back depicts a compass. The other seven also have the Great Wall on the front, but the backs have a seismograph, another Chinese invention.

Twelve of the 17 coins were sold in the US. The two on display this weekend are among these 12. The whereabouts of the other five are not known, but they are believed to be in the hands of collectors in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

US-based Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, one of the world's biggest coin grading companies, has given both coins on display an NGC PF-69 grading.

In August 2011, one of these 17 coins with an NGC PF-68 grading sold for 8.3 million yuan (US$1.36 million).

"The rarity of the coins and the depictions of the achievements of ancient Chinese civilization make them quite unique and collectable," said Steven R. Eichenbaum, CEO at Numismatic Guaranty Corporation. "I am glad that after two decades of silence, they can be seen by the local public."

Date: November 23-24, 10am-3pm

Address: 330 Jianguo Rd E., Shanghai