China issues commemorative coins for aircraft carrier

BEIJING - The People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, on Friday issued a set of gold and silver commemorative coins featuring China's first aircraft carrier.

The set, consisting of two gold and two silver coins, are legal tender in China, according to the PBOC.

The front side of each coin features China's national emblem, along with the country name and the year.

The 5-oz gold coin, with a face value of 2,000 yuan ($318), features a representation of the carrier Liaoning on its reverse side, with a combined design featuring shipboard aircraft, the carrier's deck and the armlet of the Chinese Navy.

The second gold coin, which features similar imagery, has a face value of 100 yuan.

The 1-kg silver coin, with a face value of 300 yuan, shows the Liaoning on its reverse side, as well as a combined design featuring the navy's emblem, an olive branch and a dove.

The second silver coin weighs one ounce and has a face value of 10 yuan. Its reverse side features the carrier.

The designs on the reverse sides of all four coins include Chinese characters that translate to "The Chinese Navy's first aircraft carrier Liaoning," as well as the carrier's date of delivery and the face value of the coin.

The Liaoning was delivered and commissioned to the People's Liberation Army Navy on September 25, 2012. A plane was successfully landed on the carrier in November.