PORTUGUESE OVERSEAS PROVINCE OF MACAU (1887-1999)
CHINESE ZODIAC CALENDAR LUNAR YEAR (SHENGXIAO)
YEAR OF THE DRAGON
CERTIFIED PERFECT BY NGC PROOF 70 ULTRA CAMEO
OBV: PORTUGUESE ARMS OF MACAU FLANKED BY 5 5-POINTED STARS; DATE BENEATH.
REV: A CHINESE ORIENTAL DRAGON LEFT SURROUNDED BY CLOUDS AND A FLAMING CELESTIAL PEARL UNDERNEATH; DENOMINATION ABOVE FLANKED BY STARS.
KM # 39
IN CHINA, SINCE ANCIENT TIMES, TWELVE ANIMALS HAVE BEEN USED TO REPRESENT A PERSON'S YEAR OF BIRTH (SHENG) AND THEIR RESEMBLANCE (XIAO OR SHUXIANG), THE CHARACTERISTICS GIVEN TO EACH PERSON BY THEIR ZODIAC (SHENGXIAO) TOTEM.
LUNAR SERIES COINS ARE BASED ON THIS 12 YEAR CHINESE CALENDAR. DATING BACK TO 2600 B.C.E. EACH YEAR IN THE LUNAR CYCLE TAKES THE NAME OF AN ANIMAL AND EACH ANIMAL IS GOVERNED BY ONE OF THE FIVE CHINESE ELEMENTS.
UNLIKE THE EUROPEAN DRAGON, THE CHINESE DRAGON IS A SYMBOL OF AUSPICIOUSNESS. IN CHINA, COMPETENT AND AMAZING INDIVIDUALS ARE OFTEN COMPARED TO THE DRAGON IN COLLOQUIAL LANGUAGE.
ONE LEGEND OF THE ORIGIN OF THE CHINESE ZODIAC INVOLVES THE SUMMONING OF ANIMALS BY THE EMPEROR XUANYUAN "THE YELLOW EMPEROR (HUANGDI)" TO BE HIS BODYGUARD. AS A RESULT OF THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY ARRIVED AND THE TRICKS AND BICKERING OF THE ANIMALS TO IMPROVE THE PRECEDENT OF THEIR PLACEMENT, THEIR RESPECTIVE PLACES WERE DECIDED IN SEQUENCE.
THE DRAGON, ONE FOUR SUPERNATURAL SPIRITS, REPRESENTS THE RULER. THE BENEVOLENT EASTERN DRAGON WAS A SYMBOL OF THE EMPEROR OF CHINA AND HAS BEEN USED AS A SYMBOL OF THE CHINESE PEOPLE AS "THE DESCENDANTS OF THE DRAGON." THE DRAGON SYMBOLIZES POTENCY, SUCCESS, HAPPINESS AND PROSPERITY, AND IS THE INCARNATION OF AUTHORITY, POWER, WISDOM AND ADVANCEMENT. IT IS THE ONLY MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURE REPRESENTED IN THE ZODIAC. THE YEAR 2000 WAS THE YEAR OF THE METAL DRAGON, AND CHILDREN BORN IN A METAL DRAGON YEAR ARE SAID TO HAVE A BEAUTIFUL LIFE MARKED BY PROSPERITY AND THE MIDAS TOUCH.
THE YEAR 2000 MARKED THE FIRST TIME THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON HAD FALLEN UPON THE CHANGING OF A MILLENNIUM IN THREE THOUSAND YEARS.
THE CLOUDS ON THIS COIN SYMBOLIZE GOOD FORTUNE AND HAPPINESS AND THE CELESTIAL PEARL IS AN HONORED SYMBOL OF PRECIOUSNESS, PURITY AND WISDOM.
PORTUGUESE MACAU: THE COLONY OF MACAU WAS ESTABLISHED BY PORTUGAL IN 1557. AFTER THE FALL OF THE PORTUGUESE DICTATORSHIP IN 1974, THE LISBON GOVERNMENT VOWED TO GIVE UP ITS OVERSEAS POSSESSIONS. FROM 1976, MACAU WAS REDEFINED BY PROTUGAL AS A CHINESE TERRITORY UNDER PORTUGUESE ADMINISTRATION. THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT ASSUMED FULL SOVEREIGNITY IN 1999.
CONTAINS 15.976 GRAMS OF 9167 FINE GOLD
0.4708 OZ AGW
28 MM IN DIAMETER
5,000 MINTED
