Macau 1992 - 5 Patacas

Type: Circulation coin
Year: 1992
KM #: 56
Composition: Copper-Nickel
Weight: 10.100 g
12-sided planchet

Obverse: MACAU written across territorial emblem with date below

The reverse depicts a three-masted lorcha against the background of the facade of the Ruinas de Sao Paolo. The obverse depicts the territorial emblem. the ornate granite facade featured on the reverse is one of the hallmark architectures of Macau. The facade and 68 stone steps are all that remained of St. Paul's Church, the church of the Jesuit college of Madre de Deus, after a fire in 1835. The church was built by Chinese and Japanese Christian craftsmen between 1620 and 1630 according to a design by an Italian Jesuit, Carlo Spinola. In 1987 the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration was signed that set forth arrangements for Macao's handover to China in 1999. In consequence thereof Macau's circulation coins issued after 1987 use the territorial emblem, replacing the Portuguese coat-of-arms that was in use prior thereto.

Lorcha:  The lorcha is a type of sailing vessel having a Chinese junk rig on a Portuguese or European style hull. The vessel is faster and able to carry more cargo than the normal Chinese junk because of its hull structure. The vessel was developed around 1550 in Macau, then a Portuguese colony in China. This hybrid type of vessel sailed faster than traditional pirate ships and it began to be used by British traders after the First Opium War.

Source:
1. from Book - Watercraft on World Coins by Yossi Dotan, Volume II America and Asia, 1800 - 2008

2. Wikipedia

Click here to see other coins with watercrafts, in my collection.

Seng Yu Proverbs III

Date of Issue: June 01, 2009

This MS was the third in the series of Seng Yu Proverbs, which are considered stories / fables, which gave rise to the Chinese idioms, are a valuable cultural heritage of China. For centuries, these have been applied in the daily life of people, giving an oral literary sense, thus revealing a deep popular wisdom.

Story behind the stamp - Mark the boat for the dropped sword:

Long, long ago, in Chunqu Dynasty of ancient China, a man from Chu state dropped his beautiful well-set sword into the water because of the shake from the boat while he was in the middle of the river ."Oh, God." He cried in dear pity. "What can I do ?" On hearing that, the boatman replied calmly "It doesn't matter. I'm coming to dive for it." But the man from Chu hesitated for a while and said "We can't do that because the water is rapid and deep. But I have a marvelous idea." With these words, he took out his knife and made a mark on one side of the boat where his sword was dropped. "Well, everything is done! " When the boat stopped at the opposite bank, the man undressed himself immediately and dove into the water for his sword from the very place where he had made the mark. Of course, he got nothing. Finally he appeared in the water and murmured: "What's happening? why can't I find my sword from the water just under the mark? " Laughter burst from the passengers.

The conclusion/moral of the story: Man should not stick stubbornly to his own opinion, instead he should make changes according to specific conditions.