Posts Tagged ‘Terracotta Warriors’
Unearth the Terracotta Warriors with Smartminting technology
In 1974 a Chinese farmer came across a discovery that would captivate the world … they unearthed the 2,000-year-old Terracotta Warriors.
While digging a well in Xian, China, local farmers came across pieces of a terracotta figure. These shards turned out to be part of the 8,000-warrior-strong Terracotta Army, whose purpose was to stand guard for the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, for all of his eternal afterlife.
Qin Shi Huang – The First Emperor of China
Qin Shi Huang was the founder of the Qin dynasty and reigned as the first emperor of China between 221-210 BCE.
The emperor longed to find himself an elixir of immortality and summoned magicians and alchemists to his court to discover life-prolonging elixirs.
When his magicians were unable to find a way to make him immortal, the emperor decided to create an impressive tomb for himself. Rulers in ancient China typically had two or three statues to guard them in the afterlife, but Qin Shi Huang demanded a whole army be built to protect him.
The Terracotta Warriors
What makes these warriors so impressive is that each life-sized statue has been individually created with its own unique features, thought to represent some of the actual soldiers of the day. It is estimated that it took 720,000 artisans over 40 years to complete this incredible army.
It is no surprise that this impressive find is praised as the eighth wonder of the world and was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987.
Along with the army, many other figures have been found, these include entertainers, animals, and a pair of intricately detailed, ten-foot-long bronze chariots drawn by four bronze horses.
To honour this legendary discovery, a palace-approved coin has been issued featuring 3 of the warriors, each recreated in stunning detail using the most advanced minting technology available.
Extraordinary Smartminting technology
This BRAND NEW Terracotta Warrior coin has been made using innovative smartminting technology, which provides an unprecedented level of intricate detail with extraordinary high relief. This means that the warriors and carriage on BOTH sides of the coin can be seen in 3-dimensions to a high-quality proof-like finish.
You can see this impressive craftsmanship in the video below.
Only a small number of mints across the world are able to use smartminting technology due to its extreme complexity, this means that limited ranges using this technique have been released.
And fittingly, they have been struck from a rarely used coin material, copper, complimenting the Terracotta colour of the warriors themselves.
I have only been able to secure 250 of these magnificent coins, so you’ll have to act quickly if you want to add one to your collection.