The PCGS Asian Cities Collection Special Labels are popular with collectors who wish to take a tour of the many rich and diverse metropolises across Asia. Courtesy of PCGS.
JOURNEY ACROSS ASIA WITH PCGS ASIAN CITIES COLLECTION SPECIAL LABELS By The PCGS Team Making collections a vehicle of local flair may inspire new numismatic endeavors in the future – after all, what could be more exciting than having your coins inlaid among scenes of your favorite city? In 2024, the PCGS office in Shanghai launched the Asian Cities Collection Special Labels, a program aiming to take collectors on a city tour through those tiny labels and color frames. So far, this series has included several cities in China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Each unique label is ingeniously designed with the most representative local landmarks and cultural symbols to honor the diversity of Asian cities. In China, five cities – Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Nanjing, and Chongqing – were selected for this PCGS Special Label program. While embodying thousands of years of cultural heritage, these cities also serve at the forefront of China's modern social development. This makes "the collision PCGS MARKET REPORT JAN/FEB 2025
between tradition and modernity" the most fascinating theme of these five cities. Jing’an Temple, dating back to the Three Kingdoms period, the international architecture at the Bund, and the modern skyline of Lujiazui all intermingle on the Shanghai Special Label, which represents the city's dedication to innovation and openness while also preserving its own culture. The Beijing Special Label highlights the charm of the glorious ruins of feudal dynasties and the architectural art of the modern capital through the fusion of the time-honored, stately Forbidden City and Great Wall with the state-of-theart Central Business District. If you would like to experience the authentic traditional citizen culture of Guangdong, Guangzhou is definitely the best destination; the Guangzhou Label is inspired by the Canton Tower and Lingnan culture, reflecting the city’s integration and progress. The cultural legacy of Nanjing, also referred to as the Ancient Capital of Six Dynasties, is too vast to sum up; on the Nanjing Special Label, we can see an ancient Buddhist temple, the Presidential Palace (an emblem of the republican spirit), and the vibrant Zifeng Tower, which slowly narrate splendid historical stories on a label that is just a few inches in size. For Chongqing, the unique dynamics of this "cyberpunk city" are presented by its distinctive mountainous landscape and urban structure, as well as hues that mimic lighting. From Southeast Asia, we have chosen three magnificent capitals: Kuala Lumpur, Manila, and Jakarta, all of which are amazing melting pots. The Chinese navigator Zheng He made these places well known to the Chinese during the Ming Dynasty when they were still known as Java, Luzon, 21