Whether you’re a mouse, a dog or a dragon, make Modern Coin Mart your first stop for Australia’s popular lunar coin series in 99.9% pure silver! Launching in 1996 and originally produced only in gold, the series proved to be so popular with the world’s collectors that the Perth Mint added silver coins in 1999. Based on the ancient Chinese 12-year calendar linked to the appearance of the new moon, each year’s new silver coin portrays an image of a different animal in each lunar cycle – an honored practice that dates back beyond 2,600 BC.
According to legend, the year you were born corresponds with a particular creature, which means you might expect to share specific personality traits – good and bad – with others born during that same lunar cycle. Today, Australia’s Silver Lunar coins are highly coveted and collected worldwide – in no small part because they’re one of the few world lunar series to feature Ian Rank-Broadley’s official portrait of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II on their obverse.
By law, Australia’s Lunar Series coins must display the image of the Queen on the obverse. When the series began in 1996, that meant using an earlier likeness of the Queen. In 1999, Buckingham Palace decreed that a more current image of the Queen should appear. That meant that the first three years’ of silver lunar coins (1996, 1997 and 1998) would be the only releases to feature a younger Queen Elizabeth. In years to come, that may make these three years key dates for Australian Silver Lunar coin collectors!
As you’d expect, the reverse design of all Australian Silver Lunar coins displays each year’s iconic animal, its Chinese character, and the date and the weight of the coin. The Australian Lunar Series Silver coins have been produced in the following legal tender denominations and weights: $30 one kilo, $15 one-half kilo, $10 ten oz., $8 five oz., $2 two oz., $1 one oz. and 50 cent 1/2 oz.
If you’re looking for a unique gift and lucky talisman for a special birthday, wedding, graduation or anniversary, you can’t go wrong with the centuries of tradition in each of these gleaming silver lunar coins. Check back often for our latest offerings – direct from down under!
Australian Silver Lunar Coins
