The qilin — a fabulous creature of Chinese legend and a sign of good omen — appeared on the Hong Kong dollar in the commemorative issue of 1997, marking the establishment of the Special Administrative Region of China on 1 July.

Each denomination of this series received its own subject, while the obverse stayed common to all: the bauhinia flower and the legend «香港 HONG KONG», the work of Joseph Yam. The dollar’s reverse shows the qilin with the value «壹圓», the date and «ONE DOLLAR». The reverses of the series were engraved by Elizabeth Haddon-Cave.

The coins were struck by the Royal Mint in the United Kingdom. The series was sold in sets: 97,000 proof sets were issued, and by the end of June 1997 the Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced that the commemorative sets had sold out. The qilin design belongs to this single year only — ordinary dollars before and after carry just the value on the reverse.

For a collection this fills two places at once: a key coin for the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong and a striking subject for a group of mythical creatures on world coins. Grade UNC means the piece has never circulated: no wear, mint lustre intact.

A themed selection that includes this coin is easy to expand with other items from the VPcoins catalogue.