1/2 oz Australian Lunar Year of the Dragon 2024 Silver Proof Coins*

Australian Lunar series III gold coins 

The first Australian Lunar gold coin series produced by The Perth Mint 1996-2007 became popular beyond expectation among investors and collectors. The design was based on the Chinese zodiac and annually updated design featured an animal on the reverse.  Towards the end of the first series the demand for second 12-year Lunar coin series became evident and bullion coins from the Australian Lunar Series II (2008-2019) represented a trusted and convenient means of investing in precious metals.

Thus, the release of the new, third series was a logical and expected sequel to Australia's most popular coin program and its first coin was issued in 2020. Backed by an Australian Government guarantee of weight and purity, each legal tender coin also provides an extremely cost-effective way to acquire precious metal.

According to Chinese mythology, the order of the animals in the ancient zodiac calendar was decided with a great race across a river. Traditional storytellers say the magnanimous ox offered to carry the mouse across the water – and thus it was that on the opposite bank the diminutive creature was able to leap from the ox’s head and claim first place! The video of the race by the Perth Mint can be watched here https://youtu.be/iTKUz5u7r14

Legend has it that each zodiac animal influences the personality of the people born under its ‘rule’. 

Mintage

The Perth Mint will produce no more than 30,000 1 oz gold coins. Production will cease when the mintage is fully sold or at the end of the series, whichever comes first. No mintage limit applies to 1 Kilo, 10oz, 2oz, 1/2oz, 1/4oz, 1/10oz and 1/20oz gold coins. Production will take place only one year, after which The Perth Mint will declare each coin’s official mintage. A maximum of 100 10 Kilo gold coins will be produced. However, production will take place only one year, after which the coin’s actual mintage will be declared. The final mintages of the Lunar series can be found here: http://www.perthmint.com/investment-bullion-bars-and-coins-mintages.aspx

Australian Lunar gold coins are based on the Chinese Lunar Zodiac

It is believed that the Chinese lunar calendar was created almost five millennia ago by primeval ruling dynasties. Originally, the calendar was based on the cycles of the moon, as it was much easier for the ancient astronomers to make the necessary calculation. But, as time passed, they noticed the disparity between the lunar year which consisted of twelve months, each month consisting of 29.5 days which totalled 354 days in a year, and the solar year, which numbered a total of 365.24 days, thus making the lunar year 11 days shorter than the earth’s yearly orbit around the sun. To better synchronise the lunar calendar with the sun, a leap month was added every two or three years similar to that of the modern solar calendar where nearly every 4 years on February 29 an extra leap day is added to align the earth’s revolution around the sun.

In contrast to most other calendars, the Chinese lunar calendar does not count years in an infinite sequence, but is instead composed of  a 12 year period that is repeated five times in order to get to a cycle that is equal to 60 years. Each year of the period consists of two components, a heavenly stem and a terrestrial branch. The heavenly stem consists of ten symbols, which were the names of the ten days in the week used by the ancient Chinese, while the terrestrial branch consists of 12 animals from the Chinese zodiac cycle. For the creation of one year, each stem is combined with every second terrestrial branch. Thus, when all possible combinations between the heavenly stems and terrestrial branches have been made, this being equal to 60, the final cycle is created and subsequently it starts over once again. This method of cyclical dating is believed to be among the longest continuous sequences of time measurement in history. China today uses the Gregorian calendar, a solar calendar, for all civil purposes, but the lunar calendar is still the main calendar used by various communities in China and East Asia to determine celebrity dates such as jubilees, weddings, the Chinese New Year and other festivities. 

The Perth Mint is a world distinguished mint and precious metals refiner that is located in the City of Perth, in Western Australia. The Perth Mint was founded in 1896 by Britain’s Royal Mint in response to the newly discovered gold deposits in Western Australia. Perth Mint’s task was to refine gold ore from the mines and to strike sovereign gold coins from the refined bullion. Between 1899 and 1931 the Pert Mint produced  a considerable amount of gold sovereigns which were distributed in Australia  and throughout the British Empire to be used as circulating currency. British control over Perth Mint was relinquished in 1971 to the Government of Western Australia which then assumed ownership of  the  mint.  Today,  the  Perth  Mint  is  hailed  for  the exceptional  quality  of  its  world  class investment bullion coins like the Kookaburra and Koala silver coins, and the Lunar Series. The Perth Mint has been a member of the London Gold Market (predecessor of the LBMA) since 1934. The swan design, which is the Mint’s official assay stamp registered with the LBMA, is recognised internationally and was inspired by the Mint’s location in Perth, where the main river, the Swan, runs through the city.