China launches commemorative gold and silver coins to celebrate completion of Tiangong space station
Memorialising the achievement
The collection features a gold and silver coin set that is inscribed with imagery memorialising the space station.
The project, which was first proposed two decades back in 1992, was completed last year.
(Image courtesy: China Gold Coin Corporation)
Colourful inscription
While the gold coin doesn't carry any colours, the silver coin bears shades of purple, pink, green and cyan colours. It carries a denomination of 10 yuan and a maximum of 50,000 pieces will be in circulation.
(Image courtesy: China Gold Coin Corporation)
Silver coin
The silver coin weighs 30 grams and depicts two taikonauts working outside of the space station. Of them one is pictured mounted to the end of the robotic arm, while the other is half out of an airlock.
(Image courtesy: China Gold Coin Corporation)
Gold coin
As per Space.com, the 3-gram gold coin features on its front features the space station along with Shenzhou crew spacecraft and Tianzhou cargo vehicles docked at either end of the Tianhe ("Harmony of the Heavens")core module, along with the Wentian and Mengtian laboratory cabin modules and a Chinese taikonaut wearing a Feitian spacesuit at the end of the space station's robotic arm. While the coin's reverse features the T-shaped Tiangong ("Heavenly Palace") after which the space station is named.
Reportedly, the coin which carries a 50 yuan denomination is made up of 24-karat gold and only 20,000 pieces will be sold.
(Image courtesy: China Gold Coin Corporation)
Lottery system
The commemorative coins which will be released on January 11 are to be sold via a lottery system via the China Gold Coin Network website.
(Image courtesy: China Gold Coin Corporation)
Similar coins launched earlier
Previously, the country had launched similar commemorative coins to mark the success of Tianwen-1, China's first mission to orbit and land on Mars.
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