The Chinese Lunar Series

Last time we took a look at the very popular Chinese Panda Series. In this article, we'll take a short look at another popular issue from the China Mint, the Lunar Series.

The Lunar Series coins are based on the Chinese Zodiac, or Sh¨¥ngxi¨¤o. In contrast to the Western Zodiac, which uses stellar constellations as its symbols, the 12 signs of the Chinese Zodiac are represented by animals.

The Lunar Series began in 1981 (Year of the Rooster) and for the past 31 years has been issued in a variety of denominations and metals including Silver, Gold and Platinum (1988). The China Mint has introduced a wide variety of innovative formats for this series over the years, making a collection of these coins both interesting and challenging.

• In 1993 (Rooster), the "Flower" shape was introduced. Modeled after the plum blossom, this scalloped coin has eight "sides" and represents good luck, prosperity and persistence.

• In 1998 (Tiger), the colorized finish was added to the main device on some coins, most notably the 10 Yn Silver and the 50 Yn Gold coins.

• In 2000 (Dragon), the "fan" and "rectangle" shapes made their debut. When the 12-year cycle is completed, the "fans" will form a complete circle, with an outer ring comprised of the one-ounce 10 Yuan Silver piece and an inner ring comprised of the half-ounce 200 Yuan Gold piece. This makes for a most striking presentation.

• Ultra-high denomination pieces were introduced early in the 21st century. The 1 kilogram 10,000 Yuan gold coin first appeared in 2001 (Year of the Snake) in a flower shape, and in 2007 (Year of the Pig), the massive 10 Kilogram (22 pound) 100,000 Yuan coin in gold was issued. Needless to say, mintages of these behemoths are very limited, and sale prices in the neighborhood of $900,000 are the norm.

The 12-year cycle for the immediate past and future years is as follows:

Other countries have also issued Lunar series coins, including Australia, Canada and Singapore.