Meet the Man Hunting for Beijing's Souvenir Coins
Beijing has a great many historic sites of significance, places that have stood the test of time and, even amid epidemics and pandemics, still managed to draw visitors from near and far. But for one Beijing resident, these places are home to another more collectible item: souvenir coins.
In his own words, Instagram user Vulhrg has “a dozen names but just one passport.” Yet, while he is here in Beijing technically just for work, he’s also in it for the coins.
So what got you started collecting these coins and how did you first find out about them?
From my very first days in Beijing, I always liked to visit parks and temples. At the beginning - as most people do - I completely didn’t notice these machines with souvenir coins. From a distance they look like any old vending machine. But when you look closer, you’ll soon find there are no snacks inside! Instead, you’ll find coins.
The first time I spotted a coin machine was when visiting Jingshan Park, but I didn’t decide to collect it initially as it seemed a bit too pricey. With time I spotted more machines in other parks, but still wasn’t convinced to buy one. I’d always ask myself: “Is it useful?”, “Do I really need it?”, “What I will do with it?” A lot of questions and no good answer for any of them.
But after long time I broke and together with my girlfriend, we decided to buy the first coin during our visit to the Beijing Stone Carvings Art Museum / Zhenjue Temple. From there, I started to collect them from other places. In some way I didn’t want to leave a park or temple just with photos, I wanted also to have some small “piece” of each, visited place.
Have you collected coins prior to this?
No, I didn't collect coins before. This one is my first collection. I thought it's something normal, but here we are!
So you have five coins thus far, where are they all from and how much did each one cost?
Five coins. It’s a little bit awkward to talk about my collection seeing as it’s still very small. But it’s just beginning of something bigger in the future. The coins come from Zhenjue Temple, Temple of Heaven, Beihai Park, Jingshan Park and Zhongshan Park.
Regarding price, to be honest I don’t remember how much I paid for each one, but usually the price is the same for every place, between RMB 20 to RMB 50 for one coin. It’s worth mentioning that most machines sell more than one coin each.
Machines usually have two to four coins with two designs to choose from. Two coins are silver and two are gold (but sometimes you can find bronze). Silver is cheaper, ranging from RMB 20-30, while gold coins are usually a little bit higher in price, RMB 30-50. There is only one place I’ve been to thus far with a higher price. At Jingshan Park the coins were around RMB 98 or so, perhaps because it was a commemerative coin for the 600th anniversary of the Forbidden City.
Also, not every place has a coin machine. For instance, in the Temple of Heaven, I couldn’t find a machine anywhere, so I bought a coin in a souvenir store instead. Plus, even with places that do have machines, check in the souvenir shop for more coins; the designs will usually be different (and sometimes better looking).
What’s your favorite coin in your collection thus far?
Definitely my favorite coin is from Jingshan Park. It’s the only coin in my small collection from which you can make a sundial! In the middle of the coin, there is a hole and a gnomon. Take out the coin from the plastic case and place the gnomon in the hole and voila, now you can use it as an impromptu clock.
How can people go about finding these coin machines in the places you mentioned?
Like I mentioned before, all of them are similar to snack vending machines, so here are some tips for beginners:
1. Beijing Stone Carvings Art Museum / Zhenjue Temple (五塔寺 Wutasi) [behind the temple, next to the souvenir store], price around RMB 30 RMB (+ RMB 20 for ticket);
2. Zhongshan Park (中山公园), price around RMB 30 (+ 5 RMB for ticket);
3. Temple of Heaven (天坛 Tiantan) [souvenir store, in front of the gate to Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests], price is around RMB 30 (+ RMB 10 for ticket);
4. Beihai Park (北海公园 Beihai Gongyuan) [on the way from the north gate to Nine Dragon Screen, the coin machine is located next to a coffee shop], price is around RMB 30 (+ RMB 10 for ticket);
5. Jingshan Park (景山公园 Jingshan Gongyuan) [at the top of the hill, next to Wanchun Pavilion (万春亭 Wuchun Ting)], price around is around RMB 80-98 (+ RMB 2 or 10 for ticket).
For now the list is very short. In time, when I have around 10 coins, I want to make a map with the location for every coin, complete with details like pricing info.
What spots are coming up on your coin hunting tour?
I’m not sure if one can find coins in all these places, but top of my list are the Forbidden City, Beijing Zoo, the Summer Palace, Big Air Shougang, Lama Temple, Prince Gong's Mansion, Miaoying Temple (the temple is closed right now, except on Wednesdays, entry for the first 200 people is usually free), the Bird’s Nest, Old Summer Palace and Capital Museum (plus other museums).
Also, I found information about coins in Dingling and the Great Wall, but both are a little bit far, so those two are for a time when I can get out of the city. I have heard mention of souvenir coins from Shichahai, but I’ve never been able to find a machine there.
Sadly, now it’s a very bad time to go out and collect new coins, a lot of places are closed and I don’t know when we can visit them again.
With that being said: If you have spotted any coin vending machines or coins in souvenir stores in any of Beijing’s parks and temples, please let me know via Instagram (@vulhrg) or in the comments below!
READ: Non-Current Currency: The Five Sets of RMB Used in Chinese History
Images courtesy of Vulhrg
