2013 Australian Lunar Series Snake Silver Coins

In the Chinese Lunar Calendar, 2013 brings about the Year of the Snake. The Chinese Lunar calendar has rapidly become the top theme in modern numismatics. The Perth Mint is located in Perth Australia and as part of their extremely popular Lunar Series 2 coins they will release a wide array of silver coins, proof silver coins, and colorized coins to commemorate the year of the snake.

The snake is known for its wisdom, charm, secrecy, suspicious nature and intelligence. These traits are beautifully highlighted in the Australian Perth Mint's 2013 Year of the Snake silver coin releases. The snake stands out in the Chinese zodiac as one of the most desirable characters. It is also one of the most popular and brings enthusiastic lunar silver coin collectors and investors swarming in to purchase the popular Perth Mint releases.

As this lens is dedicated to coins it will be rather heavy on photographs. The coins and photos in this lens are part of my personal collection. I hope you enjoy the review as much as I did making it.

The Australian Perth Mint's standard bullion silver snake issues come in 10 Kilo, 1 Kilo, 10, 5, 2, 1 and 1/2 ounce sizes. These coins are sold as bullion and usually closely follow the value of the silver contained in them. Due to the popularity of the Lunar theme and the uniqueness of the snake coin in particular these coins have historically experienced rapid price appreciation and sell at substantial premiums to their silver content. This has provided initial investors in them with opportunities for attractive returns.

The one ounce version has a limited mintage of 300,000 coins. The other sizes are minted to demand with mintage figures published at the conclusion of the year. The Kilo is available for purchase throughout the series life while the others cease to be minted at the conclusion of the year. Another factor that attracts investors toward the Australian lunar snake coins minted in 2013 is their liquidity; The Perth Mint is held in very high esteem by collectors resulting in exceptionally strong market demand for the lunar series coins.

The Perth Mint are pioneers in the introduction of colorized coins. Their presentation utilizes a proprietary process of colorizing coins to enhance their appeal. The color is actually permanently sealed and bonded onto the coin. The flawless execution of the technology yields striking full colored detail portraits on individualized coins. Colorized versions of the bullion snakes coins have been released in 1 Kilo, 10, 5, 2, 1, and 1/2 ounce versions. The photo above shows a single 10 ounce colorized coin. The colorized coins have become popular numismatic alternatives to the bullion issues with far less of them being minted.

Released September 4, 2012

The snake is also available in a proof finish version composed of 99.9% fine silver. The design elements of the coin remain unchanged but the fields are mirrored and the details are frosted. Here are the silver proof coins released on September 4, 2012:

2013 Snake Silver Proof 1oz Coin

2013 Snake Silver Proof Three-Coin Set

2013 Snake Silver Proof 1kg Coin

Snuggly housed in classic black and red perth mint display cases slid inside a nicely illustrated outer box with a numbered COA.

Silver Lunar Snake 2013 3 coin mint proof set in presentation box

There is nothing more impressive than one of the larger coins. Even more so when they are in a proof finish. Here is the Kilo Silver Proof with outer Box.

Many collectors are highly interested in the mint packaging as this is the complete presentation for the issue. Here are the Proof Outer Boxes for 2013 Australian Perth Mint Lunar Snake.

If you have ever wondered how rolls are prepared at the mint here is your answer. 20 individual 1/2 or 1 ounce coins are shrink wrapped together to form a continuous roll. In the case of 2 ounce coins the roll is only 5 coins. The photo above depicts rolls of two ounce series 2 silver snakes while below is a mint sealed box of 100 1 ounce lunar snake coins.

Many investors will only purchase mint sealed rolls and save them for a few years to be released into the market when the number of mint condition specimens has dwindled.

Grading of modern bullion has seen a continuing increase in popularity. The coin is graded for the quality of the strike and then encased (slabbed) in a protective plastic holder with a label stating the grade of the coin. Above is the 1 ounce snake bullion version in a perfect NGC (Numismatic Guaranty Corporation) MS70 grade and below is the rest of his perfect friends..

1 OZ BU SILVER

A special privy release was authorized with the primary intent to be distributed in the German market with a Bavarian Lion Privy. The maximum mintage for this coin is 200,000. It is basically identical to the traditional bullion release minted in .999 fine silver with the exception of the privy mark on the reverse of the coin. These coins will only be available during 2013.

Specifications:

Metal Content : 1 Troy Ounce

Fineness: 99.90% Pure

Minimum Gross Weight: 31.135 grams

Monetary Denomination: 1.00 AUD

Maximum Diameter: 45.6 mm

Maximum Thickness: 2.6 mm

All coins are presented in protective Perth mint air tight capsules.

In 2012 the Perth Mint released its first high relief lunar coin to commemorate the year of the dragon. The snake follows in its footsteps as the 2013 version and is sure to add to the popularity of the high relief coin issues. The coin is issued with mint packaging including an outer box, presentation case, COA, and coin capsule. It is composed of .999 fine silver and is somewhat smaller and thicker than traditional bullion issues to allow for the high relief technique. The coin's surfaces are actually concave to ensure the metal flows properly as the die strikes this unique issue. Mintage was limited to 7,500 coins..

1 oz Gilded Silver Coin

The unique design of the 2013 Perth Mint Lunar Year of the Snake is punctuated with the 24k Gold Gilded Silver Coin. Composed of 1 oz of 999 fine silver, individual coins come in a Perth Mint red and black presentation case with Certificate of Authenticity. The original government package is completed by an outer illustrated box.

The proof colored version struck by the Perth Mint in 99.9% pure silver is an extremely striking issue. The coin is legal tender in Australia of one dollar. This is mostly symbolic since the silver value of the coin is far greater than the measly dollar. The reverse depicts a black and yellow snake entwined on a branch along with the Perth Mint "P" mintmark. The obverse carries the Ian Rank-Broadly effigy of Queen Elizabeth II. The coin has a maximum mintage of 10,000 coins. The packaging consists of an outer box, presentation case, Certificate of Authenticity and an air tight capsule.

The Pièce de résistance of the Year of the snake silver coins is the largest $30 legal tender issue. The substantive one kilo, .999 silver, beautifully colorized specimen is clearly one of the most captivating coins to ever be issued. Instantly commandeering the attention of anyone who sees this massive specimen, this dramatic one kilo silver coin is punctuated by a genuine diamond inset in the right eye of the snake! Actual mintage is limited to a meager 5000 coins.

2001 was also a year of the snake. It was the 3rd release of the Series 1 set. The 2001 Silver Lunar Year of the Snake features a beautifully coiled snake protecting her eggs as they hatch, The design was by Tony Dean. The Ian Rank- Broadley effigy of Elizabeth II is shown on the obverse. Here is the 2 ounce release from that year. This was the coin that actually followed the dragon and served to enhance and substantiate the lunar coin craze.