Jim Contursi writes:

A giant gold coin weighing a hefty 8kg has been unveiled to celebrate the Year of the Tiger.

It took more than 200 hours to etch the brand new design onto the surface to celebrate Chinese New Year.

An image of a tiger stands proudly on the coin with its Chinese character placed next to it - combining British and Chinese culture.

And if you look closely, the Chinese character for 'king' is subtly hidden on the big cat's forehead.

While machines were used to engrave the coin, a 'master toolmaker' made sure to inspect it before its release, carefully papering the metal to remove any marks made from the cutting process.

The coin was then painstakingly polished, by hand, for 100 hours before experts were happy.

Taking advantage of new technology, the 185mm-sized creation was then laser frosted for 50 hours to create a brilliant shine.

The new release has been added to Royal Mint's Masterworks coin range and popular Shengxiào collection.

The weight of the coin, 8kg, was chosen due to the number eight being considered the luckiest number in Chinese culture and one associated with wealth.

It is available to be purchased by a collector, with the price available upon application to the Royal Mint.

To read the complete article, see:
Giant 8kg gold coin celebrating Year of the Tiger unveiled by Royal Mint(https://metro.co.uk/2022/01/28/chinese-new-year-royal-mints-huge-coin-celebrating-year-of-the-tiger-16006188/)

To read the complete article, see:
Royal Mint reveals huge 8kg gold coin to celebrate Year of the Tiger(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBZ725sJ2Gw)