Gainesville Coins is pleased to offer the highly anticipated 2012 Year of the Dragon Silver Bullion one-ounce coin. 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.