The Perth Mint will soon release the latest Australian Lunar Series II 2012 Year of the Dragon Silver Coin. This version is struck in stunning high relief proof and carries a limited mintage of just 7,500.
People born between the dates of January 13, 2012 and February 9, 2013 are said to be born in the Year of the Dragon. The dragon is the only mythological creature included within the Chinese zodiac. People born in dragon years are said to be confident, enterprising, independent, self-assured, brave and passionate.
The 2012 Year of the Dragon Silver Proof High Relief Coin features a representation of a dragon with a pearl of wisdom. The inscription “Year of the Dragon” appears below, with the Chinese character for “dragon” also included. The obverse of the coin features the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Queen Elizabeth II. The inscriptions include the “2012” date, precious metal content “1 oz 999 silver”, and the legal tender face value of “1 Dollar”.
The high relief obverse and reverse designs are minted on concave surfaces to ensure optimum metal flow is achieved by the strike of the die. Each coin has a diameter of 32.60 mm and thickness of 6.00 mm. The coins are housed in a presentation case with a custom designed shipper and numbered certificate of authenticity.
This issue carries a limited mintage of 7,500 coins and is scheduled to go on sale March 2, 2012 at 12:01 AM AWST. For collectors in the United States, this will be March 1, 2012 at 11:01 AM ET.
Once available, the coins can be found in the Perth Mint website recent releases section.
Thanks for posting the picture, Michael. I hadn’t been able to find one. Boy, am I looking forward to this release – of all the dragon products since the original colored proof, this is the one I find most interesting, even if it’s not likely to be as valuable as some of the others.
Additionally, I’m seeing ads on APMEX now for other varieties of colored dragon: http://www.apmex.com/Product/67642/2012_10_oz_Silver_Australian_Year_of_the_Dragon_Colorized_Coin_.aspx
There’s also a kilo colored (separate from the kilo gemstone colored) and a 5 oz colored.
I have no idea what these are: bullion or numismatic releases, intended for US or some other market, etc.
Which mint issues High Relief Year of Dragon Silver Coin of Australia? Royal Australina Mint or Perth Mint? So how I can order this coin?
This is issued by the Perth Mint. You can go to the Perth Mint’s website via the link at the end of the article.
CaptainOverkill, did you also order any other of the March 1 new releases? I was looking at the Titanic coin, and that one looks to be the most attractive among all the Titanic commems being put out so far by other countries.
And why do you say that the High Relief Dragon will “not likely to be as valuable as some of the others” (Australian dragon coins)?
CO – appreciate the update! Just ordered mine 5-min ago.
Two Cents: I think the Niue Titanic (New Zealand Mint) is much better….is also cheaper and only has a mintage of 2,229…one for each passenger.
Two Cents,
I decided to use today as an excuse to snap up the USS Constitution coin in the Ships that Changed the World series. I also picked up a high relief kangaroo and also the ANZAC non-PM coin.
The reason I think the dragon HRP might not be as valuable as some of the other releases is because it has a higher mintage than the black dragon coin, the upcoming ANDA coin, and the rare proof varities (the 2 oz and half oz proofs). The 10K mintage colored proof coin took a couple of days to sell out as well.
However, given how arbitrary this “queue” system that Perth has implemented is, I’m not certain of my chances now of getting the high-relief proof. If the queue was arbitrary enough, enough collectors may have been unable to get one to require trips to the secondary markets (which will bolster premiums).
CaptainOverkill, so even if the Perth Mint has confirmed the order via email and the order appears on the Order Tracking webpage (no tracking # yet), the order may still be cancelled as sold-out? When the queue notation appeared on the order screen, I thought it referred to the wait time for the order to be processed thru their website — I waited over an hour for the wait-timer to finish.
Thanks for your insight on the Australian dragons. Wow, there sure are a lot of different versions of the silver dragons in all sizes, finishes, colors, and there’s even a gemstone one! I can see how the collector (and even the flipper/investor) can get overwhelmed with the various selections. And that doesn’t even include the gold variants, not to mention the dragon coins from other nations.
Do you think there is a saturation point for all this, where collectors will say, “Enough,” or are the dragons so popular that people will continue to buy whatever is out there? There’s 10 months to go in the Year of the Dragon, and that’s ample time for even more different types of dragon coins to be made.
Steve, I looked up the Niue Titanic coin and you’re right, it is a beauty. I like the compass border and the neat porthole case. However, the APMEX website says that they have “exclusive access to the entire mintage directly from the New Zealand Mint.” It sounds like a made-to-order item, similar to something the Franklin Mint used to do back in the day. Do collectors (and flippers/investors) frown upon this type of “coinage” or is it perfectly acceptable and collectible?
I’m new to this world coin field, where precious metal and low mintage commemoratives in various sizes, finishes, colors, and even gemstones (!) are widespread. Before I jump in, I’d like to hear about other collectors’ experiences and thoughts on this subject.
TC,
What was happening with the queue was, once you got down to about one minute wait time, some people would get an error message saying your order had “failed” and to please try again. Once the order actually went through for me, I got an email confirming my order had been successful. Everything was ok for me at that point.
As for a saturation point, other people have mentioned the same thing. However, I am not seeing interest in the dragons decline from the coin collecting community so far. This series has provoked more online interest, debate, and discussion than anything other than the 25th anniversary set in the US coin collecting community. I think the issue is the price of the coins Perth releases. As long as they keep selling affordable low mintage products like the black dragon or the unique 1/2 oz and 2 oz proofs, I think people are going to keep buying them. Where you don’t see heavy sales are the gold dragons, which are very expensive, and very expensive silver products like the gemstone variety.
Thanks for the kind words on my latest articles. I plan to post soonish (sometime today or tomorrow most likely) about the sale of the upcoming ANDA coin, which I have been referring to as “ANDAgeddon” if you are interested, and I believe Michael will put something up soon too on this site.
The coin has sold out! Let the good times roll!
Louis – appreciate the update. Glad I bought one when CO initially posted on it. Thanks CO!
I concur — thanks CaptainOverkill, Michael, Louis and all the rest in keeping us posted.
What do you think of the New Zealand Mint? It’s a private mint that makes coins for really small countries, like Niue, but some people seem to collect them. I have to admit that its Titanic coin is a stunner, especially with the little details like the compass border and porthole case — even the certificate of authenticity is supposed to have the look of a boarding ticket. I may end up purchasing one.
However, the NZ Mint is also pretty out there on some of their commemoratives, like Star Wars! It’s hard to take the mint seriously when I see Darth Vader or Yoda on its “coins.”
Two Cents….I understand your concerns about the New Zealand mint…but you should lay them to rest as they produce some great coins. The Nuie Gilded Dragon is also a great coin…I bought a couple before they sold out….only 2500 minted…here is a link to ebay for one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2012-1-oz-Proof-Silver-Gold-Gilded-Lunar-Dragon-Niue-New-Zealand-SELLING-FAST-/200721302344?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ebbec0348
Also, the Perth mint produces coins for small countries too, like Tuvalu.
The Perth mint also produces it’s share of crazy stuff too…like the Transformers coins…look them up…you can still buy “Megatron” and “Optimus Prime”
I’ve bought several coins from the NZ mint and they are well presented and nicely struck. In person, the Titanic coin looks even better. I think you would be very pleased with it!!
I agree with Steve. Check out the low mintage bullion 2012 kiwis from New Zealand. Only 5K proof and 13.5K BU and sold out at the NZ mint. Modern Coin Mart has the BU for $79, and the proof for about $100. Quite frankly, our own Mint makes stuff I think is junk too, or just not my cup of tea. Why buy rolls of circulation coins at double face? At least the Canadian Mint sells rolls that have limited mintages and fair prices, and one that sold out the same day it went up.
The US Mint pales in comparison to what the other mints are doing. To be fair, though, our mint is constrained by what Congress tells them to make. I assume the world mints make up their coins as they go along, and they cater to the collectors of whatever is popular at the time — Star Wars, Transformers, Titanic, etc. What a field day for people who collect these niche products.
Wish I had more money … as it is, I’ve already committed to buying the ATB 5-ouncers and that takes a big chunk of my numismatic spending. Those foreign commems are way too attractive for their (my) own good.
A question about the Niue Titanic commem — it’s hard to tell from the photos, but is the ship and waves painted, inked, sprayed, or whatever on the flat field of the coin, or is it laid on top of an embossed design? In other words, if there were no color, would there still be an engraved image of the ship on the coin?
Two cents,
I feel your pain and know what it’s like, but if you can, check out the niobium coins from Austria or Canada. The latest issues were both covered here. The Austrian ones are exceptional, and I just ordered the 2012 issue for $65 from Europe. The Canadian ones are about $120. The first Austrian one in the series now sells for $500.
TC,
On the US Mint, they do some things better and Perth does some things better. For one thing, they are superior in terms of communication. Collectors generally have a reliable product schedule several months in advance as opposed to Perth (this year being an exception). The US Mint also does a better job of releasing advance pictures of their products. They also release weekly sales figures, and Perth generally does not.
And of course, the US Mint has MUCH better prices overall for their precious metal products.
I think Perth produces better quality products than the US Mint does, though. They are more willing to work with techniques such as coloring, gilding, and things such as hologram coins. In general I just feel their art quality is better. We seem to get more consistently good art from Perth than we do from the US Mint – compare, say, the not terribly inspiring presidential dollar coins or the infantry coin to the 2011 platinum eagle or the Medal of Honor coin.
Just my opinion. I think both Mints could stand to take some lessons from each other.
Louis, stop it! There are too many beautiful commemoratives out there. Despite my misgivings, I did look at the Canadian niobium Full Moon coins, and I gotta say, they are beautiful … especially in the 4-coin display set. The US coins seem drab in comparison … as different as color tv is to black & white. You and CaptainOverkill, along with Michael, are going to be responsible for making my wallet a lot lighter.
By the way, I just picked up a Perth Mint High Relief Dragon at Downie’s for US$108, plus shipping.
TC – thanks for the heads up on Downies. I just picked one up there too.
Does anyone have a lead or suggestion on where to pick up the 2010 high relief kangaroo? I got the 2011 and now the UHR dragon. I might go back and get the 2010 to keep a little UHR collection going.
I’ve been watching eBay and some listings are going up but only one sale so far for the UHR dragon.
Nate, I’m a newcomer to this world coin collecting, so I don’t know all the dealers and such, but Talisman Coins has the 2010 Kangaroo High Relief for sale at US$199.95 plus shipping. That sounds pricey to me, and you can probably find it cheaper on eBay. (Talisman’s price for the 2011-dated High Relief is reasonable at US$99.95.)
Here’s the link: http://www.talismancoins.com/servlet/Detail?no=1287
I read that a couple of people got their Opal Koala coin order cancelled by Perth Mint, after they got email confirmation. people will only get Tracking number after the Mint mailed out the coin. So just email confirmation is not a sure thing. but Tracking number from FedEx is a sure thing
Thanks. I did see they had it but am hoping to pick one up cheaper – I’ll just have to keep watching eBay for a good deal.
TC, Nate….actually, Talisman does not have the 2010 HR Kangaroo for sale. Yes, it has a listing for it and a place to “add to cart”…but if you look above that you will see it says “This item is out of stock”
Ebay has one for sale for $175 or best offer (NGC PR69) and their is a auction going on for one in OGP….currently at $117.51 + $15 shipping with a 1 1/2 day left. Most of the “buy it now” listings are asking a lot.
Good luck…I hope you find one at a reasonable cost.
If you haven’t seen it, check out the Perth Mint’s video showing off the dragon UHR:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0yWMFNoIpI&list=PL5A236AFB885E533C&index=2&feature=plcp
Nate – now I’m really looking forward to getting this coin.
Is anyone else going to be waiting for the ANDA dragon release tonight?
Another good video about Dragon High Relief.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyOE7EXE7YY
A lot of company do “Exclusives” through various world mints. GovMint/AMS does some nices ones. APMEX as well. Franklin Mint Japan did this but they also designed the coins. Prior to 2002 the Franklin Mint actualy struck the coins for Foreign Countries. Before 1985 Franklin Mint was the largest private mint in the world and struck circulating and commem coins for over 20 countries. The quality of the pieces actually struck by Franklin Mint…medals and coins…is outstaning…much better than some of the best pieces out there today.