Specifications
- Denomination
- 1 Dollar (1 Yuan)
- Designer
- He Ziliang
- Years of issue
- 1912
- Composition
- 90% Silver, 10% Copper
- Weight
- 26.9 g
- Diameter
- 39 mm
- Edge
- Reeded
- KM
- KM-Y318 / Y318.1
Melt value: $50.17
The undated silver dollar of 1912 commemorating Sun Yat-sen's inauguration — He Ziliang's peach-blossom portrait and the MEMENTO reverse.
History
- Designed and engraved by Nanjing Mint engraver He Ziliang, the memento dollar was introduced as a commemorative piece celebrating Sun Yat-sen’s 1912 inauguration as the first President of the Republic of China (Wikipedia, accessed 2026-09-16)
- The coin bears no date: the obverse shows Sun Yat-sen’s portrait surrounded by peach blossoms, while the reverse carries the denomination within a wreath of rice and beans and the English legend MEMENTO / BIRTH OF REPUBLIC OF CHINA (Wikipedia, accessed 2026-09-16)
- The Nationalist government revived production in 1927 as a temporary replacement for the Yuan Shikai dollar; it was succeeded by the junk dollar after the Shanghai Central Mint opened in 1932 (Wikipedia, accessed 2026-09-16)
- Following the hyperinflation of the Chinese Civil War’s final stages, small numbers were struck again at the Canton Mint for several months in 1949 (Wikipedia, accessed 2026-09-16)
- Smaller twenty-cent and ten-cent companions were produced, of which only the twenty-cent piece circulated (Wikipedia, accessed 2026-09-16)
- Numismatist Eduard Kann described the hastily prepared portrait as poorly rendered, a consequence of rushed production (Wikipedia, accessed 2026-09-16)
Key dates and varieties
- 1912 (no date on coin) — original inauguration issue, KM-Y318 (Wikipedia, accessed 2026-09-16)
- 1927 — Nationalist revival issue (KM-Y318a, L&M-49); six-pointed stars variety is the commonly cataloged type (Heritage Auctions, accessed 2026-09-16)
- 1949 — small Canton Mint restrikes during the Civil War hyperinflation (Wikipedia, accessed 2026-09-16)
- Key attribution points include high five-pointed stars and the dot below the ear; the dating of some star varieties is disputed among catalogs, so attribute carefully (Wikipedia; Heritage Auctions, accessed 2026-09-16)
Specifications
- Composition: Silver, .900 fine (Heritage Auctions, accessed 2026-09-16).
- Designers: He Ziliang (Wikipedia, accessed 2026-09-16).
- Diameter: 39.00 mm per Heritage’s measurements of PCGS/NGC specimens; Wikipedia (citing Kann 1953) lists 36.9 mm — published sources disagree (Heritage Auctions; Wikipedia, accessed 2026-09-16).
- Edge: Reeded (Wikipedia, accessed 2026-09-16).
- Weight: 26.9 g (Wikipedia, accessed 2026-09-16); Heritage lists 26.73 g for 1927-issue specimens (Heritage Auctions, accessed 2026-09-16).
Collector notes
- Buy graded examples and verify the PCGS/NGC certificate number online; memento dollars are widely counterfeited.
- Confirm whether the piece is the 1912 original or the 1927 revival (KM-Y318a, L&M-49) before pricing — the issues trade differently.
- Published diameters disagree (39.00 mm Heritage vs 36.9 mm Wikipedia/Kann), so measure the coin and weigh it (26.7–26.9 g) rather than trusting one catalog.
- Chopmarked and cleaned examples trade at discounts; UNC Details pieces are common in the market.
Market check
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