2017 1oz Australia Lunar Rooster .9999 Gold Coin
A new lunar year is just around the corner on the Chinese Lunar Calendar, and the Perth Mint is ready with the latest coin in its Lunar Series II program. The Year of the Monkey has almost arrived, and Perth Mint offers an all-new design for the 2017 coins. As with other years, 2017 Lunar Series coins are available in silver and gold, with bullion and proof versions. - Contains 1 oz of .9999 fine Gold - Each coin comes in a plastic capsule. - Obverse: The Ian Rank-Broadley likeness of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, along with the Gold purity and face value. - Reverse: Features an adult monkey sitting on a branch of a peach tree, symbolic of longevity and immortality. - The Chinese character for ‘monkey’ and the inscription ‘Year of the Monkey’ also appear in the design with The Perth Mint’s traditional ‘P’ mintmark. - Sovereign coin backed by the Australian government. Lunar Series II coins were introduced in 2008 with the Year of the Mouse coin. The series followed immediately in the footsteps of the popular Lunar Series from the Perth Mint, which was in production from 1996 to 2007. The Lunar Series II coins from Perth Mint are part of a 12-year production cycle that represents each of the animals from the Zodiac. In the Chinese Lunar Calendar, an animal was chosen as a representative of each birth year in the cycle. Those born under the sign of a particular animal are said to share traits and characteristics with those creatures. On the reverse side of the 2016 1 oz Australian Gold rooster is standingin a stylised Chinesescene featuring bamboo and leaves, exclusive to the gold version of the coin. The obverse bears Queen Elizabeth II’s right-profile picture. Although a new fifth-generation image of Her Majesty was unveiled in 2015, the Perth mint is sticking with Ian Rank-Broadley’s fourth-generation image from 1998 to give Lunar Series II coins a sense of continuity in obverse design. Perth Mint is the oldest operating facility in Australia. Though it is not affiliated the with the nation’s official Royal Australian Mint, its coins enjoy legal tender status under the Currency Act of 1965.