3152) Year of the Dragon, Taiwan: “Lunar Zodiac” Silver Proof Collector Coin Series": The Central Bank of the Republic of China - Taiwan (Taipei) has issued Cupro-nickel and Silver Coins which feature the mythical Dragon: Date/Year of Coin issue: 08.01.2024:
The Central Bank of the Republic of China - Taiwan (Taepei) has released its 2024-dated Silver Proof and Base Metal Collector Coins to usher in the - "Year of the Dragon".
The coins are part of the third “Lunar Zodiac” series which commenced in 2017.
The Zodiac cycle renews itself every 12 years and, as such, the third series will conclude with the 2028 release.
As this is the year which is represented by the only mythical and the most powerful creature of the 12-animal lunar zodiac, the "Year of the Dragon" is considered special.
The legendary magical beast is symbolic of authority, honour, and dignity.
How does the Lunar Calendar or Chinese Zodiac Cycle work?
I consulted some of the books which have been kept in my personal library and got acquainted with some interesting facts about the Chinese Zodiac/Lunar Calendar:
The exact origins of the 12 animal signs is rather lost in the obscurity of time, but there is no doubt that they originated in China. In terms of the Chinese astrological "history", the 12 animals are of a rather recent introduction - for it seems that in the 2nd Century BC, Ssu Ma Chi'en (163-85 BC), who was the grand astrologer to Emperor Wu Ti, wrote the Shi Chi or "historical record" up to that time. In this book, there is no "Zodiac" or mention of the 12 animals.
Originally, the 12-year cycle that it takes the planet Jupiter to complete one orbit of the Sun was believed to have defined the earlier calendars. The Chinese still call this cycle "The Great Year" and each month corresponds to one of our own years.
By the 10th Century AD, however, after Buddhism had been established in China, Calendar Almanacs, such as those written by Tibetan monks in exile in the "Caves of the Thousand Buddhas" monastery in the remote reaches of North-western China, depicting the 12 animals, came into existence.
The legend of the Conference of animals called by the Buddha and naming of the 12-year cycle after 12 animals for the Chinese Lunar Calendar:
According to a legend, it was the Buddha (583-463 BC), who created the 12-animal cycle.
He is believed to have invited all the animals in the land to hold a conference together. The Buddha was not surprised, as in his wisdom, he knew that some of the animals were friendly towards others, while others were inimical/enemies.
To encourage attendance, he decided to name the years after the first twelve animals, in order of their arrival.
An invitation from the Buddha was hard to resist, and when they heard the news, all the animals set off at once, each determined to be the first to arrive.
Tiger, because of his energy and speed, at first took the lead. Soon, though, he began to tire and the early lead that he had achieved over his next rival Ox, who may have been slow, but had great stamina, soon dissipated. Ox reached the Buddha ahead of Tiger and prepared to bow down low to receive his honour.
But, what the sturdy Ox did not know was that clever Rat had sneaked a ride on his tail!!
Just before Ox's nose touched the floor at the Buddha's feet, nimble and swift Rat ran up the Ox's tail, along his back and jumped off his nose, thus winning the race to be the first to bow before the Buddha.
So Rat (or "Tze" or "Xi" is its Chinese name"), became the first animal in the Chinese Lunar Calendar/Zodiac, followed by a rather resentful Ox ("Chou").
Tiger ("Yin"), Rabbit ("Mao"), Dragon ("Chen"), Snake ("Si"), Horse ("Wu"), Goat ("Wei"), Monkey ("Shen"), Rooster ("You"), Dog ("Xu") and Pig ("Hu"), all followed, and in that order, paid homage to the Buddha and were each honoured with a year.
Interestingly, Dragon is the only mythical beast in the Chinese Circle of Zodiacal animals.
According to the Lunar or Chinese Zodiac, each year is assigned to the above-referred animals, in accordance to a 12-year cycle:
The lunar calendar is 12 months long, with each month corresponding roughly to one cycle of the Moon's movement - from a new moon, through to a full Moon and back to a new Moon.
The lunar calendar is also known as the agricultural calendar as it divides the year into seasons. Agriculture was the principal economy of ancient China.
Even today, the lunar calendar still has great significance for the Chinese people, who use it to set the luckiest dates for traditional events and activities, such as weddings, funerals, launching new ventures and moving to a new house.
The Mythical Dragon:
The Perth Mint has released its 2024-dated “Lunar Zodiac” Gold and Silver Bullion Coins, which are the fifth design in the current series III.
The Lunar series is a popular topic for Gold and Silver Bullion and Proof-quality coins since they were first released by the Perth Mint in 1996.
Since that time, they have released two previous series with the third currently in its fifth year and due to conclude in 2030.
Each Australian Lunar series from the Perth Mint is based on the 12 actual and mythical animals in the Chinese Zodiac.
For 2024, the Lunar year, which begins on the 10th February, features the mythical - Dragon.
Those born under the influence/sign of the Dragon in the years 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, and 2024 are said to exhibit the traits of bravery, ambition, intelligence, and ultimately enjoy good fortune during their lifetime.
The Coins:
NT$10 — cupro-nickel:
Depicted on the Obverse is the colour image of two pink roses, along with the year "2024" above the primary design and denomination of "10" shown in numerals along with the Chinese character 圓 denoting the New Taiwanese dollar.
The Reverse depicts the stylised image of a dragon and pearl along with the year of issue shown as "113, representing the 113th year of the Republic of China - Taiwan, founded in 1911.
NT$100 — Silver:
The Obverse includes an image depicting the Song Jiang Battle Array, which is one of Taiwan’s most distinctive cultural tourism events held in the Niemen district of Kaohsiung in Southern Taiwan.
Below the primary design is the coins’ denomination shown as "100 圓", along with the year "2024" and an indication of the fineness of silver "Ag999", which is placed to the lower right.
The Reverse includes the image of an intricately detailed dragon and pearl in a traditional style which is selectively gold-plated.
The year of issue is shown as "113", representing the "113th year of the Republic of China - Taiwan, founded in 1911.
The Coins have been issued in two variants:
i) The Cupro-nickel Variant:
Country: Republic of China - Taipei (Taiwan); Date/Year of issue: 08.01.2024; Coin Theme: "Year of the Dragon"; Denomination: $10 NT (New Taiwan Dollar); Metal Composition: Cupro-nickel (CuNi); Weight: 25.00 grams; Diameter/Size: 38.00 mm; Coin Quality: Proof with applied colour; Minted By: The Central Bank of the Republic of China — Taiwan; Mintage: 90,000 (sets).
i)The Silver Variant:
Country: Republic of China - Taipei (Taiwan); Date/Year of issue: 08.01.2024; Coin Theme: "Year of the Dragon"; Denomination: $100 NT (New Taiwan Dollar); Metal Composition: .999 Fineness Silver (Ag); Weight: 31.10 grams or 1.00 Oz; Diameter/Size: 38.00 mm; Coin Quality: Proof with gold plating; Minted By: The Central Bank of the Republic of China — Taiwan.
- The coins are available from the 8th January and only as a set of two pieces consisting of one silver coin ($100) and one copper-alloy coin ($10) encapsulated and housed in a hardwood frame suitable for display, accompanied with a Certificate of Authenticity (COA).
Links to some more posts on the Chinese/Taipei Lunar calendar/Zodiac signs on this Blog:
1) The Travels of a silver Mexican Peso:1898 restruck in 1949
2) Ancient Chinese, Indian and Islamic coins at the Shanghai Museum
3) A Road trip to Himachal - Manali, Dharmshala, Simla
4) coins-and-currency-of the SAR of-Hong-Kong
5) Coins and Currency of the SAR of Macau
6) Yuan Shih-Kai or "Fatman" or "Big Head" silver dollar
7) Currency of the People's Republic of China - Yuan, Jiao & Fen
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