Lunar 1 oz Silver

Summary

• The Lunar silver coins are a series of Australian investment silver coins.

• The coin has been produced by the Perth Mint since 1999.

• The Lunar coins are produced in denominations ranging from 1/2 ounce to 10 kg and not all coins have been produced since the beginning of 1999.

• The Lunar coin is official currency in Australia.

• Due to the annually changing motifs and limited mintage, individual vintages can command collector's prices.

Introduction Lunar Silver Coins of the Perth Mint

The Lunar silver coins are produced by the Perth Mint in Australia. The name comes from the English word for moon, and the animals of the Chinese lunar calendar are depicted on the coin. Due to the annually changing depiction on the reverse and the limited edition, collector's prices are possible, which are higher than for other bullion coins.

History of the Lunar Silver Coins

Due to its geographical location, Australia has close trade relations with China and also a relatively large Chinese population. This probably served as inspiration for a coin that has a connection to Chinese culture. The Chinese lunar calendar assigns an animal to each year in a twelve-year cycle. The first Lunar gold coin series began in 1996 with the year of the mouse. But as silver became more and more popular as an investment precious metal, the Perth Mint also introduced a silver coin. The silver coins were first issued in 1999 with the Year of the Rabbit. In 2007, in addition to the Pig coin, the Mouse, Ox and Tiger coins were also produced to synchronise the silver coin series with the gold coin series. In 2020, production of the third series began, again with the mouse. Since the beginning, the coin has appeared in ½, 1, 2 and 10 ounce sizes as well as 1 kg. Since 2004, there has also been a 5 ounce and a ½ kg version. In 2006, a 10 kg silver coin was introduced as the last one.

Appearance of the 1 ounce Lunar silver coins

The obverse shows the head of state of Australia. This was Queen Elizabeth II from the first coin until 2022, with the 2023 coin also showing the popular monarch. The rim inscription on the bottom left shows the weight and fineness, while the coin's face value is inscribed on the bottom right.

The reverse shows the animal of the Chinese lunar calendar. The depiction on the reverse changes annually with the Chinese lunar calendar.

The sequence of animal depictions is as follows:

• Mouse

• Ox

• Tiger

• Hare

• Dragon

• Snake

• Horse

• Goat

• Monkey

• Rooster

• Dog

• Pig

Manufacturer of the Lunar Coin the Perth Mint

The Perth Mint is the oldest mint in Australia. Founded as a subsidiary of the British Royal Mint, it is today one of the two mints of the state of Australia. In the beginning, its task was to produce circulating Sovereign coins from gold mined in Australia. Today, the Perth Mint still refines and processes gold, silver and platinum from Australia in the highest quality. The Perth Mint is one of the few LBMA-certified smelters in the world. Thus, not only the Lunar coins produced by it can be found on the European market, but also gold and silver bars with the swan in the Perth Mint logo. Besides the Lunar coin, the Perth Mint produces other internationally important precious metal coins such as the Kookaburra, the Koala and the Kangaroo coins.

The one ounce Lunar coin

The one ounce Lunar silver coin has been produced since 1999 and has a face value of 1 Australian dollar. Further data such as weight and fineness can be found in the table below.

Buy and sell 1 ounce Lunar coins

In Switzerland, Lunar coins are easy to sell because of their popularity and high fineness. The annually changing motifs also make them very interesting for collectors. You can buy and sell Lunar coins on PreMeSec.ch.