At the first sight of the huge sculpture of a coin set in Jinggangshan in East China's Jiangxi province, Diego Barroso, a Mexican language teacher based in Shanghai, wonders how the pattern of Latin America occurs on the China-made coins.

The coin, made by the Red Army Mint during the Chinese revolution, was engraved with an eagle carrying a snake in its mouth, standing on a cactus growing between rocks in a lake. On the wings of the eagle is engraved the Chinese character gong, which means workers. The picture is quite similar to the national emblem of Mexico.

To figure out the connection between the two countries represented on the coins, Barroso came to Jinggangshan, the "cradle" of the Chinese revolution.

In 1928, in a bid to consolidate and develop revolutionary bases, forefathers of the Communist Party of China Mao Zedong and Zhu De, with their army, built the Red Army Mint in Jinggangshan, modeling the coins on the Mexican silver dollar.

A professor from the China Executive Leadership Academy in Jinggangshan explained to Barroso why they chose Mexican money.

Wen Shangqing, an expert on the economic history of the CPC, says that, during the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and the period before the New China was established in 1949, the Mexican silver dollar was among the most widely used foreign currencies in southern and central China.

As early as colonial times, some well-known silversmiths in Mexico started to make silver coins and molds, some of which circulated to other countries including China, says Javier Ocampo, a Mexican expert in local chronicles study.

"After the Red Army Mint opened, workers used silver and jewelry captured from the enemy to mint coins, on which they engraved the Chinese character gong to represent the government of workers, farmers and soldiers," says Li Haiquan, director of the Red Army Mint Site in Jinggangshan.

Mao emphasized the color and quality of the coins, asking the workers to use fine silver as their raw material, Li says.

The mint soon grew to employ dozens of workers and had the capability of producing more than 400 coins at a time in one stove. It gained wide support and trust from people in the revolutionary bases.

More than 10,000 coins had been made by the mint in the six months since it was put into operation, and the flow of coins reached Jiangxi's counties along provincial boundaries like Yongxin and Suichuan.

After hearing the story about the Mexican silver dollar's significant contribution in Jinggangshan during the Chinese revolution, Ocampo says, "I feel so proud as a Mexican."

To read the complete article, see:
Coin sculpture shows rich Sino-Mexican legacy from revolutionary times(https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202107/12/WS60eb8286a310efa1bd661180.html)

Adrián writes:

Adrián adds:

To watch the video, see:
GLOBALink | China-Mexico historical ties witnessed by China-made coins(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOM3bQA8HsY)

To read an earlier E-Sylum article, see:
BOOK REVIEW: THE BIG NICKEL: THE UNTOLD STORY(https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v17n32a06.html)