Gainesville Coins is pleased to offer the highly anticipated 2012 Year of the Dragon One Kilo Silver Coin (32.15 ounces).
The Perth Mint of Australia’s Lunar series is among the most popular silver bullion coin programs today. Each year represents a different animal in the Chinese Zodiac, with 2012 represented by the Dragon, the fifth animal in the Chinese Zodiac. Each coin is 99.9% pure silver.
The craftsmanship of the Lunar Coins Series, the popularity of the Chinese Zodiac, and the bullion prices at which these coins are generally offered have made the Perth Mint’s Lunar series highly desirable by investors and collectors.
The reverse of each 2012 silver dragon coin depicts a long, scaled, serpentine dragon, a symbol of power, strength and good luck. The reverse also includes a depiction of a “pearl of wisdom. The Chinese character for “dragon” and the inscription “Year of the Dragon” also appear in the design with the Perth Mint’s traditional “P” mintmark.
The obverse of each 2012 silver dragon coin displays Ian Rank-Broadley’s effigy of Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
The Perth Mint Lunar gold and silver series are issued as legal tender under the Australian Currency Act of 1965.
Limited Mintage
The mintage for the one-ounce 2012 Year of the Dragon silver bullion coin is limited to 300,000.
Investors and collectors should be aware that the mintage for the 10 kilo, 1 kilo, 10 oz, 5 oz, and 2 oz and 1/2 oz 2012 dragon silver coin has an unlimited mintage.
Chinese Lunar Calendar
The 12-year Chinese Lunar Calendar dates back to before 2600 BC. The Lunar Calendar is imbued with symbolism and mysticism. Each year of the Lunar Calendar represents an animal: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. Each animal is characterized by one of five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Combined, each element is associated with each animal once every 60 years. According to Chinese tradition, each animal and element has a marked influence on the personality of those born under its sign. The element associated with the 2012 Dragon is Water.
According to Chinese mythology, the Dragon is yang and complements a yin fenguang (Chinese phoenix).
While China officially uses the Gregorian calendar, or Western calendar, the Lunar Calendar is still used for determining festivals.
Some other adjectives associated with people born under the dragon sign include confident, enterprising, independent, self-assured, brave and passionate.
Silver Coins added to Lunar Series in 1999
The Perth Mint originally began the Lunar series in just gold in 1996. In 1999, the mint added silver coins. Over time, the mint added additional sizes to each series as popularity for the coins grew. The 2012 Year of the Dragon series 2 come in 10 kilo, 1 kilo, 10 oz, 5 oz, 2 oz, 1 oz, and ½ oz.
The Perth Mint’s Lunar series is now in its second series. The 2000 one-ounce Year of the Dragon silver bullion coin is part of series 1. The Perth Mint’s Lunar Series 1 ended in 2007 with the issuance of the Year of the Pig coins.