This is a one-yuan silver coin designed with the “Twelve Ornaments” national emblem established by the Beiyang Government in the 12th year of the Republic of China (AD 1923). The obverse side of the coin features the national emblem, which was co-designed by the literary giant Lu Xun, who served in the Ministry of Education in the first year of the Republic of China (AD 1912), along with Qian Daosun and Xu Shouchang. The inspiration for the emblem was drawn from twelve totems found on ancient noble attire: sun, moon, star, 3 stars, mountain, dragon, phoenix, two cups, algae, rice, axe, and figure. The main visual element is a axe-shaped mountain with the blade facing downwards, adorned on the left and right sides respectively with a phoenix and a dragon. The upper edge of the coin is inscribed with the year of manufacture, “Made in the 12th Year of the Republic of China.”
The reverse side of the coin symbolises the establishment of agriculture as the foundation of the nation, featuring intricately tied rice ears. In the centre, the denomination “One Yuan” is inscribed, with variations in font size distinguishing between the “Large Font Version” and the “Small Font Version”. This item belongs to the “Small Font Version”.
This coin is embedded in a silver dish crafted by the renowned Shanghai silversmith Zee Sung, with the manufacturing period estimated to fall roughly between AD 1927 and AD 1932.
The application of the “Twelve Ornaments” national emblem on coins originated in the 3rd year of the Republic of China (AD 1914) with the legendary Italian-born sculptor, Luigi Giorgi, who worked at the Tianjin Mint and was responsible for designing the commemorative coins of Yuan Shikai. The one-yuan silver coin minted in AD 1923 was the second coin to adopt this national emblem design. Subsequently, in the 15th and 16th years of the Republic of China (AD 1926 and AD 1927), under the control of warlords led by Zhang Zuolin, commemorative coins featuring the national emblem were issued both centrally and locally.
The status of the “Twelve Ornaments” as the national emblem of the Republic of China lasted until the 17th year of the Republic of China (AD 1928) when the Nationalist government succeeded in the Northern Expedition, replacing it with a new national emblem modelled after the emblem of the Kuomintang.
