First issued in 1995 and now in its third round, the long-running Australian Lunar Coin Series celebrates the animals of the Chinese zodiac with a sequence of annual designs portraying the mouse, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. These 2021 coins celebrate the Year of the Ox, whose rule over every second year in the 12-year lunar cycle is said to influence people born during 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009 and 2021. 

Magnificent Ox Reverse

Each coin’s reverse portrays a strapping ox amid bamboo, a symbol of virtue. The design includes the inscription OX 2021, the Chinese character for ‘ox’ and The Perth Mint’s ‘P’ mintmark.

Issue Limits and Mintage

Just 1,000 1oz coins will be issued individually from a maximum mintage of 2,500; 3,500 individual 1/4oz coins from a maximum mintage of 5,000; and 2,500 1/10oz coins from a maximum mintage of 5,000.

Themed Shipper

Accompanied by a numbered Certificate of Authenticity, each coin comes in a prestigious red display case with a magnetic lid and an illustrated shipper. When aligned with the previous Year of the Mouse shipper and future shippers from the series, the illustration forms a diorama depicting all 12 animals in the order they finished The Great Race, a traditional Chinese story about the creation of the lunar calendar.