“Zheng He“, Famous explorers series, Niue 2020, 5 Dollars, 2 oz, 45 mm, high relief coin, antique finish and porcelain insert with blue printing, client: Mint of Gdansk, producer: Mint of Poland.
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In the 15th century, during early Ming dynasty, Zheng He (郑和), the great Chinese admiral commanded the treasure fleet for the expeditions to Asia and Africa. Baochuans, that we see in the background of the reverse, were the huge ships of Chinese fleet, probably almost twice as long as any wooden ship ever known.
The coin has a porcelain insert with a blue and white print, similar to the Ming dynasty painted vases.
On the obverse: the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, former Great Bao’en Temple. Zheng He supervised its construction. The old illustration of the Porcelain Tower was taken from “An embassy from the East-India Company of the United Provinces, to the Grand Tartar Cham, emperor of China”, a book written by Dutch explorer Johan Nieuhof (Source: Wikipedia, public domain).
