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1/20 oz Australian Lunar Year of the Mouse 2008 Gold Coin

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As a long-term partner of the Perth Mint, Tavex is pleased to offer one of world’s finest ... read more
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120,79 €

Introduction

As a long-term partner of the Perth Mint, Tavex is pleased to offer one of world’s finest minted gold bullion coins, the 2008 Australian Lunar Year of the Mouse. The gold coin is part of Perth Mint’s praised chronological gold bullion collection, the Australian Lunar Series II, where each coin in the series is only minted once every twelve years in accordance with the ancient Chinese lunar calendar. The mintage of the coin was only 5376 pieces, giving the coin a considerable collector’s premium in the secondary market. The Year of the Mouse gold coin contains 99.99% pure gold and is produced with a special minting technique that ensures the coin is in proof-like condition, meaning it has exceptionally shiny and mat surfaces coupled with the richest of detail. This bullion coin is truly a piece of breathtaking gold art suitable for collectors with an eye for beauty and those who wish to give their loved ones something really memorable and special.  

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  • Product value (1pc)
    212,74 €
  • Buyback price
    120,79 €
  • Your risk now
    91,95 €

Fact: gold price in EUR has risen 115.15% in the last 8 years. The lowest price was 1011,47 EUR/oz and the highest 2434,57 EUR/oz. Current world market price is 2429,20 EUR/oz

History

Australian Lunar gold coin - Year of the Mouse 

The Chinese lunar calendar is today used by many for Taoist cosmology. It is believed that, depending on the year of the zodiac when a person is born, a special relationship exists between the person’s personality and the animal that constitutes part of the Chinese zodiac. The animals in the zodiac are supposed to be of symbolic nature, where each animal is a representation of a specific group of characteristics and traits that can be found in every human being. There are twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac, each of them being celebrated once every twelve years. The year of the mouse was last celebrated in 2008.   

Those born in the year of the mouse are considered to be good at acquiring and safeguarding riches. This ability stems from their naturally curious mind that always seeks out knowledge and, thanks to their quick-wittedness, they are able to take advantage of opportunities. People born under the year of the mouse tend to have strong intuition, are perfectionists and have excellent taste. They are most often ambitious and, in striving to attain their goals, they will use all their wits to succeed, including being charming, persuasive and charismatic. This can attract others and specifically the opposite sex, and although people born in the year of the mouse tend to enjoy a large social circle they most often have more acquaintances than true friends. But once you become their real friend, they will treat you as their family. People born under the year of the mouse are loyal and devoted to their loved ones, making them especially good parents. It can therefore be seen that the Australian Gold Lunar Year of the Mouse coin is an ideal gift for whoever you love or respect, since giving a Gold Lunar coin means that you are showing affection by immortalising the person’s year of birth and particular virtues in pure and precious golden artwork.

Australian Lunar Year of the Mouse coins – as rare as gold 

The Perth Mint introduced Australian Lunar Year of the Mouse gold coins for the first time in 1996 and subsequently issued the coins again in 2008. The next issue of the Year of the Mouse will only become available in 2020, when the mouse, according to the Chinese lunar calendar, will once again seek out new opportunities. In 1996 the gold coin was offered in 1 oz, ¼ oz, 1/10 oz and 1/20 oz weights, while the 2008 issue added four new weights: 10 kg, 1 kg, 10 oz, and 2 oz. The one-ounce mintage in 1996 was 16,593 gold coins while in 2008 the issue was sold out, reaching the maximum mintage limit of 30,000 gold coins. If the mintage of all Year of the Mouse gold coins is included, then the total figure rises to 80,252 gold pieces. This is an extremely low figure compared with the mintage of other well-known investment bullion coins. For example, the Australian Kangaroo one-ounce gold coin reaches the corresponding cumulative mintage figure of the Year of the Mouse Gold Series every four months. Australian Lunar Year of the Mouse gold bullion coins are thus well suited for collectors since they are naturally as rare as gold.

Australian Lunar gold coins are based on the Chinese Lunar Zodiac

It is believed that the Chinese lunar calendar was created almost five millennia ago by primeval ruling dynasties. Since that time, the calendar has been continuously improved by astronomers of different royal Chinese courts, culminating in a final version that was calculated according to the earth’s movement around the sun, but fitted into a lunar calendar, thus making it officially a lunisolar calendar. The decision to base the calendar on two celestial bodies stems from the fact that the moon’s motion around the earth is not in synchronisation with the earth’s motion around the sun, creating a time disparity which created a problem for farmers who, of course, needed an accurate calendar that would tell them the best time for planting and harvesting in accordance with the sun’s movement. Originally, the calendar was based on the cycles of the moon, as it was much easier for the ancient astronomers to make the necessary calculation. But, as time passed, they noticed the disparity between the lunar year which consisted of twelve months, each month consisting of 29.5 days which totalled 354 days in a year, and the solar year, which numbered a total of 365.24 days, thus making the lunar year 11 days shorter than the earth’s yearly orbit around the sun. To better synchronise the lunar calendar with the sun, a leap month was added every two or three years similar to that of the modern solar calendar where nearly every 4 years on February 29 an extra leap day is added to align the earth’s revolution around the sun.

In contrast to most other calendars, the Chinese lunar calendar does not count years in an infinite sequence, but is instead composed of  a 12 year period that is repeated five times in order to get to a cycle that is equal to 60 years. Each year of the period consists of two components, a heavenly stem and a terrestrial branch. The heavenly stem consists of ten symbols, which were the names of the ten days in the week used by the ancient Chinese, while the terrestrial branch consists of 12 animals from the Chinese zodiac cycle. For the creation of one year, each stem is combined with every second terrestrial branch. Thus, when all possible combinations between the heavenly stems and terrestrial branches have been made, this being equal to 60, the final cycle is created and subsequently it starts over once again. This method of cyclical dating is believed to be among the longest continuous sequences of time measurement in history. China today uses the Gregorian calendar, a solar calendar, for all civil purposes, but the lunar calendar is still the main calendar used by various communities in China and East Asia to determine celebrity dates such as jubilees, weddings, the Chinese New Year and other festivities. 

The first Australian Lunar gold coin series produced by The Perth Mint 1996-2007 became popular beyond expectation among investors and collectors. Therefore, towards the end of the first series the demand for second 12-year Lunar coin series became big.

Struck from 99.99% pure gold, bullion coins from the Australian Lunar Series II represent a trusted and convenient means of investing in precious metals. Backed by an Australian Government guarantee of weight and purity, each legal tender coin also provides an extremely cost-effective way to acquire precious metal.

Contributing even further to the appeal of Series II, the majority of these coins are struck with a larger diameter than normal, adding to their prestigious appearance.

Mintage

The Perth Mint will produce no more than 30,000 1oz gold coins. Production will cease when the mintage is fully sold or at the end of the series, whichever comes first. No mintage limit applies to 1 Kilo, 10oz, 2oz, 1/2oz, 1/4oz, 1/10oz and 1/20oz gold coins. Production will take place only one year, after which The Perth Mint will declare each coin’s official mintage. A maximum of 100 10 Kilo gold coins will be produced. However, production will take place only one year, after which the coin’s actual mintage will be declared.

 

The Perth Mint is a world distinguished mint and precious metals refiner that is located in the City of Perth, in Western Australia. The Perth Mint was founded in 1896 by Britain’s Royal Mint in response to the newly discovered gold deposits in Western Australia. Perth Mint’s task was to refine gold ore from the mines and to strike sovereign gold coins from the refined bullion. Between 1899 and 1931 the Pert Mint produced  a considerable amount of gold sovereigns which were distributed in Australia  and throughout the British Empire to be used as circulating currency. British control over Perth Mint was relinquished in 1971 to the Government of Western Australia which then assumed ownership of  the  mint.  Today,  the  Perth  Mint  is  hailed  for  the exceptional  quality  of  its  world  class investment bullion coins like the Kookaburra and Koala silver coins, and the Lunar Series. The Perth Mint has been a member of the London Gold Market (predecessor of the LBMA) since 1934. The swan design, which is the Mint’s official assay stamp registered with the LBMA, is recognised internationally and was inspired by the Mint’s location in Perth, where the main river, the Swan, runs through the city. 

Product weight in grams
1.556
Gold weight in grams
1.55517
Fineness
999.9
Gold weight in troy ounces
0.05
Diameter
14.1
Thickness
-
Face value description
5 dollars
Manufacturer
The Perth Mint, Australia

Obverse

The obverse portrays the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II. The reason for picturing Her Majesty the Queen stems from Australia’s membership of the United Kingdom’s Commonwealth of Nations. By being a member of the Commonwealth, Australia has Queen Elizabeth II as its reigning constitutional monarch. Above the Queen’s effigy is the text “ELIZABETH II” and “AUSTRALIA”. Inscribed below the effigy is the nominal face value of 100 Australian dollars, the year of mintage, weight and purity of the coin, and the designer’s initials “IRB” – Ian Rank-Broadley.

Reverse

The reverse displays a serene mouse on a bed of stones.  Inscribed under the mouse is the text “Year of the Mouse”, to the left is the letter “P” which stands for Perth Mint, and above it is the Chinese character for “mouse.

Packaging

Each coin is individually packaged in a hard plastic capsule at the Perth Mint. For bulk purchases, multiples of 20 are available in original factory packaging.

Delivery
When placing an order through our online shop, you can choose to have the products delivered to you by Omniva courier or to collect them in person at one of our offices in Estonia.

Delivery by FedEx/TNT courier: after we have received your payment, the products will be dispatched within 24 hours. Delivery time is within 1 or 2 working days. The courier will contact you via phone.

Delivery to Omniva parcel machine: after we have received your payment, the products will be dispatched within 24 hours. Delivery time is normally within 1 or 2 working days. Please provide your phone number in order to receive SMS notification with a confirmation code when your parcel arrives.

Self pick-up: you are welcome to come and collect your products at one of our offices in Tallinn or Tartu the same day that we have received your payment.

In both instances, you need to bring a valid ID to collect the products.Take into consideration that the client, the payer and the recipient must be the same person.

Insurance
The package is fully insured, and in the extremely unlikely case that the package is lost or damaged, we will re-ship the items or refund your money.

Packaging
The products are encased in protective wrapping and placed in a discreet, unbranded padded package.

Shipment tracking
Once the products have been packaged and sent you will receive instructions and a code to track the shipment.

Delays
Should a delivery delay occur or if the ordered product is out of stock, we will always contact you by email to give you details about the delivery.

Shipping prices
The shipping charge is 5.16 EUR by Omniva courier and 2.95 EUR by Omniva parcel machine, applicable to deliveries within Estonia. If you wish to have your products delivered to another country, please contact us on +372 627 9900 or by email at tavid@tavid.ee for prices (starting from 50 EUR) and terms.

Expected shipping cost

Tavid offers easy and secure shipping for all online orders. Take a look at the expenses.

Vast Stock Availability

Tavid has the majority of products always in stock and therefore can offer you quick delivery and same day pickup with market leading prices. Tavid is an official partner for all the biggest mints in the world, such as The Perth Mint Australia, Austrian Mint (Münze Österreich), China Great Wall Coins Investments Ltd., gold bar market leader PAMP Suisse and Valcambi and other gold factories and dealers.

Same day pickup

Feel free to visit our office during opening hours to take a free consultation or learn more about a specific product. If you purchase online you can pick-up the products at the same day we receive the payment.

Low prices

Over 25 years on the market and large volumes have enabled us to offer you the best prices on the market. With Tavid you can maximise your investment’s return because of low margins and spreads.

Item out of Stock

This item is out of stock and you can pre-order it now.

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