Paris Mint to issue commemorative coins for Forbidden City's 600th anniversary

The Paris Mint, a French government- owned institution, is going to issue a set of gold, silver and bronze commemorative coins next Tuesday for the 600th anniversary of China's Forbidden City.

The coins feature the front facade of the magnificent Forbidden City palace complex located in the heart of Beijing and a dragon. They also bear the French and Chinese words indicating the Forbidden City's 600th anniversary.

The coins are the last set of the UNESCO World Heritage Coin series in 2020.

"We believe that the Palais de Versailles in France and the Forbidden City in China are the two most beautiful royal and imperial palaces in the world. On these beautiful coins to be released in 2020, we can see the front facade of the Forbidden City and a dragon above it. Dragon was the symbol representing the imperial power in China," said Marc Schwartz, CEO of Paris Mint.

The coin designer saw the Forbidden City years ago, and was amazed by its grandness. He chose to engrave the palace's tremendous front side onto the coins.

The set consists of a gold coin with a face value of 50 euros, a silver coin with a face value of 10 euros and a bronze one with a face value of a quarter euro.

"We plan to release a total of 3,000 silver coins and 500 gold coins," said Olivier Srgalla, chief commercial officer of Paris Mint.

Located in the center of Beijing, the Forbidden City was the former Chinese imperial palace and residence of the emperors of China between 1420 and 1924.