Uploaded July 2017 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
The Perth Mint's Lunar coins is inspired by the Chinese lunar calendar in which every year is represented by 12 different animals. According to a Chinese folk story, the Buddha summoned 12 different animals to attend him before he passes away. The Buddha turned this situation into a race, in which each of the 12 animals will be rewarded by having a year named after each animal in the order that they arrived to the Buddha. As there are 12 animals involved in the race, the lunar calendar consist of a cycle of 12 years. The Mouse reached the Buddha first, so it was decreed that the Mouse was to be celebrated on the first year of the lunar calendar. As such, the Perth Mint honored the Mouse in the first coin to start off the Lunar Series in 1996. The Perth Mint produced two different Lunar coin series. The first series, Lunar Series 1, was produced from 1996-2010. The second series, Lunar Series 2, is produced from 2008-present day. The Perth Mint handles the mintages of the Series 1 coins differently from Series 2. The Series 1 silver coins have mintage limits at 300,000 however the actual mintage is dictated by demand. For example, the Series 1 Tiger has a mintage of 56,000 despite the mintage limit being 300,000. The Series 2 silver coins have a 300,000 mintage limit while the actual mintage is also set at 300,000. For example, the Series 2 Tiger has a 300,000 mintage limit, with the actual mintage being 300,000. Thus, the Series 1 coins have lower mintages than Series 2 coins due to the Series 1 coins being produced according to demand. Because of their scarcity, the Series 1 coins have exploded in value over the years. In addition to the BU coins, the Perth Mint also produce Lunar coins as proofs, high relief proofs, colorized proofs, colorized BU, and privy mark BU.
The Perth Mint's Lunar coins is inspired by the Chinese lunar calendar in which every year is represented by 12 different animals. According to a Chinese folk story, the Buddha summoned 12 different animals to attend him before he passes away. The Buddha turned this situation into a race, in which each of the 12 animals will be rewarded by having a year named after each animal in the order that they arrived to the Buddha. As there are 12 animals involved in the race, the lunar calendar consist of a cycle of 12 years. The Mouse reached the Buddha first, so it was decreed that the Mouse was to be celebrated on the first year of the lunar calendar. As such, the Perth Mint honored the Mouse in the first coin to start off the Lunar Series in 1996. The Perth Mint produced two different Lunar coin series. The first series, Lunar Series 1, was produced from 1996-2010. The second series, Lunar Series 2, is produced from 2008-present day. The Perth Mint handles the mintages of the Series 1 coins differently from Series 2. The Series 1 silver coins have mintage limits at 300,000 however the actual mintage is dictated by demand. For example, the Series 1 Tiger has a mintage of 56,000 despite the mintage limit being 300,000. The Series 2 silver coins have a 300,000 mintage limit while the actual mintage is also set at 300,000. For example, the Series 2 Tiger has a 300,000 mintage limit, with the actual mintage being 300,000. Thus, the Series 1 coins have lower mintages than Series 2 coins due to the Series 1 coins being produced according to demand. Because of their scarcity, the Series 1 coins have exploded in value over the years. In addition to the BU coins, the Perth Mint also produce Lunar coins as proofs, high relief proofs, colorized proofs, colorized BU, and privy mark BU.
