China Commemorates First Spacewalk with Silver and Gold Coins

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China will commemorate their historic first spacewalk with legal tender silver and gold coins, The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) announced on Monday. The Central Bank said 60,000 one-ounce silver and 30,000 one-third ounce gold coins would be minted by the Shenyang Mint and issued on October 8, 2008.

Chinese commemorative first spacewalk silver and gold coins

The obverse (heads side) of each coin bears a decorative solar system map design while the colorized reverse portrays a taikonaut conducting a spacewalk below the Chinese words ‘To commemorate the success of China’s first spacewalk’.

The silver coins will have a face value of 10 yuan, be made from 99.9 percent silver, and have a diameter of 44 mm. Each gold coin will be marked as 150 yuan, be made from 99.9 percent gold, and have a diameter of 23 mm, or nearly half the size of the silver version.

41-year-old Zhai Zhigang was the first person from China to walk in outer space on Saturday. After the 68-hour flight in the Shenzhou-7 spacecraft module, the three taikonauts — Zhigang, Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng — returned to Earth on Sunday.

"A small step by Zhai Zhigang in space is a big step in the history of the Chinese nation," said a commentary by the official Xinhua News Agency carried Sunday by the Beijing Daily newspaper.

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Koichi Ito

How I can buy this Spacewalk Commemorative Coins of China? Where I can order First Spacewalk Commemorative Silver and Gold Coins of People’s Republic of China? Do any coin dealers sell them?