The 2015 Beijing International Coin Exposition (BICE), jointly held by China Gold Coin Incorporation, China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation and China Numismatic Museum, was held in the China National Convention Center November 7 to 9, 2015. About 250 exhibitors from 16 countries attended the exposition. The CEO of Champion Auction Michael Chou along with four of his staff members attended this exposition.
Highlights of the BICE
1. Opening Ceremony
It was cold in Beijing and the expo location was far from downtown but that didn't stop people visiting. At the ceremony, Zhang Hanqiao, the manager of China Gold Coin Incorporation (CGCI), introduced the distinguished guests. Xu Lianchu, the Chairman of CGCI, introduced the major activities of BICE. Bu Jianchen, the general manger of China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation (CBPM), presented the history and development of CBPM. Zhou Weirong, the curator of China Numismatic Museum, presented the 30-year history of the development of bank cards and their significance. Fan Yifei, the vice president of the People’s Bank, officiated at the opening ceremony of the BICE.
2015 BICE Opening Ceremony
2. The Organizer CGCI
As the organizer of BICE, CGCI had the biggest booth (T001) to display its representative products, among which the 2016 Gold Panda Coins set at the price of ¥132,000 was very popular. The 2016 Chinese Zodiac Commemorative Gold and Silver Coins attached with the label of "display only, not for sale" attracted many visitors who hoped to win the purchase priority of these coins in the lucky draw. The BICE 2015 Commemorative Silver Coins were also hot sellers. From Nov. 7th to 9th, about 600 of BICE 2015 Commemorative Silver Coins were sold each day. Many visitors arrived very early to wait in line to buy one. The reverse depicts the patterns of two representative coins from China’s Ching [Qing] dynasty - a dragon coin (left) and a Britain Queen Victoria portrait coin (right). CBPM, at booth T002, played videos to introduce the company, the printing process, the art of engraving and the anti-counterfeiting technology of the China Aerospace Space Commemorative 100 Yuan banknote which will be issued soon. The Shanghai Mint, Shenyang Mint, and Nanjing Mint also displayed their products. China Numismatic Museum, at booth T003, displayed many photos with descriptions in 24 panels to commemorate the 30th anniversary of China's first bank card issuance. In able for more visitors to gain a better understanding about China bank cards three hundred cards of different varieties from the Zhao Aiguo collection were on display.
BICE 2015 Commemorative Silver Coin
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China Aerospace Space Commemorative 100 Yuan Banknote |
The editor of JEAN Yuan Shuiqing (L) and Li Ming |
3. Foreign exhibitors with their representative products.
Seventeen foreign exhibitors including mints, coin dealers and grading services came from many countries including Germany, Liechtenstein, the US, Canada, Singapore, France, Australia, North Korea, Britain and Austria. Coins displayed included the 2016 Year of the Monkey Gold and Silver Proof Coins, the Kookaburra Silver Coin, Kangaroo Coins and Koala Coins from Australia's Perth Mint. The Shakyamuni Buddha Commemorative Silver Coin, struck in ultra-high relief by the Singapore Mint, also made its debut. The New Zealand Mint displayed its latest Disney series of "Star Wars" coins. North Korea's Pugang Coin Corp., the Royal Canadian Mint and Panda America also displayed their representative coins.
China 2016 Gold Panda Coins
4. The outcome of the voting for the "Most Popular 2014 China Precious Metal Commemorative Coins" was revealed on 8th November. The People's Bank of China issued 56 precious metal coins varieties in 10 projects in 2014. Five gold coins and five silver coins entered into the final round of the competition after two months of voting on CGCI's official website www.chngc.net and its WeChat platform. The winners of the "Most Popular 2014 China Precious Metal Commemorative Coins" were the 1/4 oz. gold commemorative coins for the China Lunar Exploration Program's First Successful Moon Landing and the 2 oz. Mount Emei of the Chinese Sacred Buddhist Mountain Series.
5. Great changes in the 2016 Panda Gold and Silver Coins.
On 7th November, the 2016 Panda Gold and Silver Coins Appreciation Meeting was held in Hall A, 2F Beichen Intercontinental Beijing. The guests listened to stories of the design concepts and the minting procedures behind the panda coins to better understand and appreciate the coins. An important change of 2016 Panda coins is the unit of weight has been altered from ounces to grams. Besides this, 50g and 100g Gold Panda Coins were issued for the first time at a fairly small mintage. Some foreign researchers who have a great passion in collecting Panda coins think that this alteration does not comply with international practices and will would greatly influence international sales.
6. The Auction
The 2015 BICE auction was held by E & W International Auction on 9th November in the China National Convention Center. Michael Chou, Andy Shao and Yuan Shuiqing attended the auction. There were 521 items for sale. Lot 1 - China 2015 Beijing International Coin Exposition Silver Coin with serial No.1 realized ¥3200, and lot 88 - China 2014 Year of the Horse 10kg. Gold Commemorative Coin started at ¥460,000 and finally sold to floor buyer 106 at the price of ¥528,000 (all prices include buyer's commission). A China 2016 Year of the Monkey Gold Commemorative Coin, serial No.1, started at ¥258,000 and realized ¥715,000. Lot 398 - China 2015 Year of the Sheep Plum-blossom shaped Gold Commemorative Coin sold for ¥495,000. Lot 188 - China 2000 the Millennium Year Gold and Silver Coins set (7 pieces in total) started at ¥6,000,000, and realized ¥8,800,000, the highest price realized in this auction. Generally speaking, foreign coins and copper medals didn’t sell well. Lot 270 - Mongolia 2013 Wolf Howling at the Moon Gold Plated Silver Coin and lot 80 - Austria Wild Animal Series "Red Deer" Gold Coin won the "Most Innovative Coin" and "Most Artistic Coin" respectively, but only lot 270 sold at the price of ¥1430, lot 80 started at ¥5000 but didn't sell.
Champion Auction was well-prepared for this exhibition and its booth A045, near to China Banknote Printing and Minting Incorporation, attracted many visitors. Eight rare silver and copper coins including China-Chihli 1896 50 Cents Silver, China-Chihli 1897 50 Cents Silver, slanted eye dragon, China-Kwangtung 1889 50 Cents Silver Pattern, China-Kwangtung 1889 10 Cents Silver Pattern, China 1912 Yuan Shih Kai Large Beard One Dollar Silver Pattern, an extremely rare portrait coin in Republic of China from the H. Chang-Dennis W. Sibert Collections, were displayed. Fifty catalogs, 200 auction brochures and JEAN (the Journal of East Asian Numismatics) flyers were all delivered to our customers on the first day.
The GM of YJ Online Ding Feng delivers a welcome speech
Additional Achievements
On 7th November, Michael Chou, Yuan Shuiqing and three Champion staff were invited to attend the Third National Association of Numismatics dinner held by YJ Online. About 200 guests including numismatic collectors, experts and researchers attended this dinner, and many of them picked the Champion Macau auction catalog and brochures. After the presentation of the coins exchange procedure on YJ Online, King L. Chan, a senior scholar of modern China gold and silver coins shared his experiences on visiting the Chicago International Coin Fair; Peter Anthony delivered a speech about research on gold and silver panda coins; Max Spiegel, the vice President of NGC made a presentation on coin grading of NGC; Ding Feng, the GM of YJ Online, delivered a welcome speech.
On 8th November, Michael Chou, Yuan Shuiqing, Zhang Yuequn (the retired director of the Shanghai Mint Museum) and some American friends met the GM of CGCI Zhang Hanqiao in the Benchen Intercontinental Hotel. They discussed several issues including the difficulty of selling gold and silver coins as coin distributors set sale prices too high and the sale of panda coins would be greatly affected by the new alternation of the unit of weight. However, Mr. Zhang said since the target market was mainly domestic, the unit alternation might bring Chinese collectors a good opportunity for investment. In the evening, Michael Chou, Zhao Yansheng (the former GM of China Great Wall Coins Investments Ltd.) and Yuan Shuiqing discussed the market situation of Chinese gold and silver coins over a dinner held by Champion.
Michael Chou, Yuan Shuiqing and David Chio with MNS members visit the Beijing Banknote Printing Corporation
On 9th November, Michael Chou, David Chio (the director of Macau Numismatic Society (MNS) and other MNS members visited the Beijing Banknote Printing Corporation (BBP). They learned a lot about the banknote printing process, the anti-counterfeiting technology of the 2015 100 Yuan banknotes and the history of the BBP.