Just in time to capture the spirit and zeal of Chinese New Year, the Royal Australian Mint has a design for the lunar coin investors and collectors of the precious metals market. The new Year of the Rat gold and silver for sale debuts with a 2020 date mark and a distinctive Year of the Rat design. Now, the new 2020 1 oz Royal Australian Mint Year of the Rat Silver Coin is available to you for purchase online from JM Bullion.
Coin Highlights:
- Coin arrives inside of a protective plastic capsule or with multiples of 10 sealed together!
- Unique Year of the Rat design!
- Limited mintage of only 50,000 silver coins!
- Contains 1 Troy oz of .999 pure silver in BU condition.
- Issued a face value of $1 (AUD) by Australia.
- Queen Elizabeth II is on the obverse along with a Zodiac wheel around her portrait.
- An inquisitive rat is depicted on the reverse field with the Chinese symbol for rat engraved as well.
The Year of the Rat is the first in the 12-year cycle of the Zodiac, also known as Shengxiao. The rat is considered a clever, perhaps even devious, animal. During the Great Race in which all animals were vying to arrive first to a meeting with the Jade Emperor, the rat used its cunning to its advantage.
As the rat came to a raging river, it knew it was too small to cross the river alone. The ox close behind, the rat waited and asked the ox for a ride across. It eventually hid on the ox’s head near its ear and waited until just before the finish line to jump off the ox and scurry across as the first animal to officially arrive to the Jade Emperor’s meeting. It is said that this is why the Year of the Rat is first in the lunar cycle.
Queen Elizabeth II is depicted on the obverse of all 2020 1 oz Royal Australian Mint Year of the Rat Silver coins. This is the latest effigy of the Queen on Australian coins and is based on the Jody Clark design from 2015 created for the Royal Mint of England. The Queen is shown in right-profile relief wearing the George IV State Diadem Crown on her head.
Also included in this design element is a lunar calendar wheel. You will notice that each of the 12 animals in the cycle is represented in the design of the wheel. At the very top of the wheel, indicating it is the animal represented for the year, is a small rat.
A distinctive Year of the Rat design features on the reverse of 2020 1 oz Royal Australian Mint Year of the Rat Silver Coins. In this design, the rat stands on a crescent moon shape with a lychee branch behind it. Inscriptions identify the design release of this lunar collection and the coin’s weight, purity, and metal content.
These 2020 1 oz Royal Australian Mint Year of the Rat Coins ship individually in capsules or sealed together in plastic for multiples of 10. Each individual coin is in Brilliant Uncirculated condition.
JM Bullion customer service is available to you at 800-276-6508. You can also reach out to us online through our live chat and email address features.
“This coin is exquisite. RAM quality far exceeds the “other” Australian mint. Get some.”