Liberia · Numismatics
20 dollars coin, 1997
20 dollars · Hong Kong handover · 1997
20 dollars of the Republic of Liberia, 1997, with the national arms, a divided date, and a Chinese dragon. It commemorates the Hong Kong handover. No serial and no certificate.
Catalog facts
- Year
- 1997
- Mint
- PM mark, read beside the divided date. On the related 1997 pieces, PM is the Pobjoy Mint (Surrey).
- Denomination
- 20 dollars
- Composition
- Not established. The gold color in the photograph does not fix the alloy.
- Weight
- Not weighed.
- Diameter
- Not measured.
- Edge
- Not photographed.
- Condition
- Photographed in a capsule. Reflective fields; capsule scratches and glare prevent a numerical grade.
- References
- KM sin asignar
- Numista documents the commemoration as N#31953 (KM#313, 1 dollar), N#84825 (KM#314, 10 dollars), and N#449709 (KM#317, Fr#61, 100 dollars). None of those pages is a 20 dollars with this reverse. KM#317 and Fr#61 are not assigned.
Obverse
Reverse
The coin
This piece is a 20 dollars of the Republic of Liberia, dated 1997. The obverse shows the national arms under the ribbon THE LOVE OF LIBERTY BROUGHT US HERE, the legend REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA, the divided date 19 and 97, the PM mark, and, at the foot, 20 DOLLARS. The reverse carries a Chinese dragon, the legend 一九九七香港回歸紀念, the characters 香 and 港 at the sides, and $20 at the foot. No fineness line that can be quoted is read in the photograph. The photographs keep the full frame, including the capsule scratches that cross the designs. They do not establish die axis.
Legends
- Obverse
- REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA · THE LOVE OF LIBERTY BROUGHT US HERE · 19 97 · PM · 20 DOLLARS. “The love of liberty brought us here.”
- Reverse
- 一九九七香港回歸紀念 · 香 / 港 · $20. “Commemoration of Hong Kong’s return, 1997.”
History
On 1 July 1997 Hong Kong passed from British administration to the sovereignty of the People’s Republic of China and the Special Administrative Region was established, according to that year’s official yearbook. The reverse legend, 一九九七香港回歸紀念, reads that handover. Liberia issued non-circulating coins of the same date in other denominations. This record stays with the photographed 20 dollars.
Scarcity and type
No Krause number and no mintage are published for this 20 dollars. The mintage of the related 100 dollars (5,000 pieces on Numista N#449709) and of the 10 dollars (25,000 on N#84825) are not carried over. No census and no price are published.
Certification
The piece is photographed inside a capsule, with no certificate number from a grading service. The type carries no serial number. The identity of this record is the photographed object: arms of Liberia, 1997, 20 DOLLARS, dragon, and Hong Kong legend. If it is later slabbed, the cert number will replace this note.
Sources
- Hong Kong Yearbook 1997 — The Handover and Related Ceremonies (opens in a new tab)
On 1 July 1997 the Special Administrative Region is established.
- Numista — 1 Dollar, Handover of Hong Kong, Liberia 1997 (N#31953) (opens in a new tab)
KM#313. Same commemoration and PM mark. The value is 1 dollar, not 20.
- Numista — 10 Dollars, Handover of Hong Kong, Liberia 1997 (N#84825) (opens in a new tab)
KM#314. Dragon, Chinese characters, and PM. The printed value is $10.
- Numista — 100 Dollars, Handover of Hong Kong, Liberia 1997 (N#449709) (opens in a new tab)
KM#317 and Fr#61. Gold, $100, and a fineness legend. They are not assigned to this 20 dollars.