July 6, 2017 – CIT’s latest creation puts a smile on the face of every observer. It is dedicated to the Laughing Buddha, a popular theme of Asian origins and come in a silver and a gold edition both designed on behalf of Palau.
Palau / 10 Dollars / Silver .999 / 2 oz / 38.61 mm / Mintage: 888.
The commemorative coin, available in two editions, unites some of the most innovative minting techniques. So the silver edition, made of 2 ounces fine silver and limited to 888 pieces, shows an impressively high relief thanks to smartminting© and gilded sections on the Black Proof Finish coin field.
Palau / 1 Dollar / Gold .9999 / 0.5 g / 13.92 mm / Mintage: 15,000.
The shaped gold edition takes the form of a seated laughing Buddha. Like its predecessor Golden Sea Turtle, the Golden Laughing Buddha reaches a diameter of 13.92 mm at a weight of only 0.5 g thanks to Big Gold Minting©.
The obverse features the official coat of arms of the Republic of Palau below an outrigger canoe with canoeist as well as the nominal value of the coin.
A huge statue of Buddha Daibutsu in Kamakura, Japan.
The laughing mendicant
The story of the motif is known around the world. It can be traced back to a mendicant from the 10th century. He was said to be of frugal character, always wearing a cheerful smile on his lips. The name Buddha, or Budai, is derived from a cloth sack, in which he collected handouts for children and for the poor. As Hotei, the originally Chinese Buddha/Budai became one of the Seven Lucky Gods in Japanese Zen-Buddhism. Today you cannot only find him in Zen temples but oftentimes in restaurants, promoting the respective establishment’s delicacies.
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This video, shows how CIT has realised the popular Laughing Buddha theme numismatically.
The coins are minted by B. H. Mayer’s Kunstprägeanstalt, Munich.
You can find more information on the silver coin here and on the gold coin here.
To watch a documentary on Buddha and Buddhism click here.