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Official
Australian Mint Silver Chinese Calendar Coins . . .
New Australian Silver Calendar Coins!
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The
Australia’s Chinese Lunar Calendar series has been one of the most popular and avidly collected coin issues of the last 20 years. Now that the first 12-coin series is complete, the Perth Mint has begun a spectacular new series of one-ounce silver calendar coins, using new designs and more advanced minting techniques. The first two coins, the 2008 “Year of the Mouse” and 2009 “Year of the Ox,” are beautifully designed and superbly produced, with frosted backgrounds and mirror highlights that spectacularly enhance the delightful bas-relief images on the coins.
Series 2 begins with the first year in the traditional Chinese lunar calendar, the Year of the Mouse (often called the Year of the Rat, since there is no distinction in the Chinese language between these two types of rodents). According to legend, there was a race among the animals to determine who would be the first sign in the zodiac. Near the finish they had to cross a river, and the mouse, who could not swim, cleverly jumped on the back of the ox, who was the strongest swimmer. Once back on land, the mouse jumped off and beat the ox to the finish line. To find the animal of the Chinese zodiac associated with any birth year, see the chart below.
Each of these $1 coins contains a full ounce of .999 fine silver, and has been flawlessly minted to exacting standards. As with the first series of Perth Mint Chinese calendar coins, these first two dates of this second series will undoubtedly become increasingly difficult to find as years go by. This is a terrific opportunity to get in on the ground floor of an extremely popular new issue.
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Animal |
Birth
Years For Coins Minted |
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Rabbit |
1903,
1915, 1927,1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999 |
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Dragon |
1904,
1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000 |
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Snake |
1905,
1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001 |
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Horse |
1906,
1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002 |
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Goat |
1907,
1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003 |
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Monkey |
1908,
1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004 |
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Rooster |
1909,
1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005 |
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Dog |
1910,
1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006 |
Pig |
1911,
1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007 |
Mouse |
1900,
1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008 |
Ox |
1901,
1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009 |
Tiger |
1902,
1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010 |
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