This is a cool round I picked up a while back. Another example of a round I just didn't have the money to buy in silver, but I like the image so I picked up a couple in copper for 1/10 the price 🎉
This round was produced by Silver Shield, which is part of the Golden State Mint. Here is what they say about it:
Chairman Mao ruled China from 1945 until his death in 1976. In 1957 he launched China’s “Great Leap Forward” in an attempt to transform China into a modern industrial society. This program led to widespread starvation and disease and is thought to have caused 45 million deaths. When you add in forced labor deaths and executions of political prisoners it is thought that he was directly responsible for 80 million deaths, making him history’s worst mass murderer.
The obverse of this round features a skeletonized Chairman Mao wearing his trademark coat with an armband that reads “Debt and Death”. He has a pile of bones from his victims behind him, and the willing and complicit masses in front of him awaiting his command to commit the next atrocity. The top of the round has Chinese characters that are translated as “Collectivism Kills”
The reverse has the standard Silver Shield design for the time. Looking into this design more I see they minted a series of these with a bunch of a-hole leaders from the past. I'm not sure why anyone would collect those unless they like those guys 🤔
Looking forward to tossing this one out in the park next time I walk the dogs xD
