In July 2005 China celebrated and commemorated the 600th Anniversary of the maiden voyage in 1405 of their famous Admiral, Zheng He. China has a longstanding seafaring tradition. Chinese ships sailed to both the Indian and Australian sub-continents as early as the Han Dynasty (205 BC - 221 AD). Chinese sailors had an important invention to help them - the Compass - or the "south-pointing spoon". In the 1930's, a stone pillar was discovered in a town in Fujian province. It held an inscription that described the seven amazing voyages of a Chinese Admiral named, Zheng He. The 3rd Ming Emperor, Yung Lo (1403 - 1424) had ordered him to sail to "countries beyond the horizon all the way to the end of the world". Minted from 25 grams of .925 silver, measures 37 millimeters. Issue was limited to 1,888 pieces, this beautiful piece comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.