Chinese Mao Zedong Circular Lapel Pin

Faint rays, a distant skyline, and a head rising like a sun.

This Mao Zedong circular lapel pin is from China, and dates to the 20th century. It is metal. Badges and lapel pins bearing Mao's face were produced by the billions, and Mao himself called a halt to production in 1969 because the metal used was seen as wasteful. Beaded silvery rim and a red field etched with faint rays surround the head. A small head in profile faces left near the top. Along the bottom, a tiny row of buildings and a line of characters are rendered in pale relief. It is 1.25 inches in diameter.

A whole horizon squeezed into a coin-sized sky.