A person holds commemorative banknotes for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Guiyang, Southwest China's Guizhou Province on December 21, 2021. China's central bank has issued commemorative banknotes, with a denomination of 20 yuan ($3.14), for the games. Photo: cnsphoto

Amid hot sales of merchandise related to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, many Chinese are scrambling for Beijing 2022 commemorative coins - another phenomenal souvenir that's gained rising popularity, in addition to the panda-themed mascot, in the host nation amid the public's Olympics fever. 

After the Beijing 2022 Games kicked off in early February, domestic interest in the commemorative coins surged, and the second batch of bookings for the coins were gone in an instant, staffers at several Chinese banks said. 

Compared with the 10 sets of commemorative coins allowed for booking during the first batch in November 2021, the second batch of bookings starting from Friday to Sunday allows each person to reserve 20 sets, a staffer at the People's Bank of China (PBC), the central bank, told the Global Times on Monday. 

"Even so, many people said they failed to get a set due to the high demand. I feel the public's fever for the Beijing 2022 commemorative coins and banknotes became remarkably strong after the start of the Winter Olympics. People's love for Bing Dwen Dwen (the mascot for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games) also improved the development of commemorative coins at banks," said the staffer, who requested anonymity. 

A set of commemorative coins includes two coins, each worth 5 yuan ($0.79). The commemorative banknotes, worth 20 yuan each, feature ice sports and snow sports separately. 

People can book and exchange the coins and banknotes at the PBC, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the Agricultural Bank of China, the China Construction Bank and some other banks in China. 

Photo taken on November 18, 2021 shows commemorative coins of the 2022 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. There are two coins in a set, with a denomination of 5 yuan ($0.78) each. A total of 200 million sets have been issued. The games will start on February 4, 2022. Photo: VCG

The PBC said about 189.83 million coin sets were booked nationwide in November 2021, accounting for 94.93 of the total quota. After the bookings, the first batch of coin exchanges ended on November 24, 2021.

Commemorative banknotes saw a weaker performance than the coins. The PBC revealed about 137.64 million sets of banknotes were booked in November 2021, accounting for 68.84 percent of the total quota. 

In the latest round of bookings, around 1.267 million sets of coins and 2.506 million sets of banknotes were open for booking in the capital city Beijing during the second batch, the central bank said on its website on Wednesday. 

The commemorative coins and banknotes saw higher demand in northern China compared with other regions, a staffer from a Hubei branch of the ICBC in Central China told the Global Times on Monday. 

"As the beautiful coins and banknotes have commemorative significance, they are likely to see scope for appreciation," the staff noted. 

But market observers also warned about the risks of speculation, saying that such activities have deviated from the collecting substance of commemorative coins and banknotes.