Australian Gold Year of the Horse

The Australian Gold Year of the Horse coin is part of the second Gold Perth Lunar Series that are minted in honor of the Chinese zodiac animals depicted in the 12-year Chinese Lunar Calendar. The first series of the Lunar Series started in 1996 and ended in 2007 to usher in the second series, which started in 2008 and will conclude in 2019. The second series of the coins have a higher gold fineness of .9999 than the .999 of the first series. In the Chinese zodiac, the horse is the seventh animal and, hence, the issuance of the coin in 2014.

The Australian Gold Year of the Horse coin was issued in eight denominations with face values of AUD5, AUD15, AUD25, AUD50, AUD100, AUD200, AUD1,000 and AUD3,000. In respective order, the bullion weights for these denominations were 1/20 t/oz, 1/10 t/oz, ¼ t/oz, ½ t/oz, 1 t/oz, 2 t/oz, 10 t/oz and 1kg. They all had unlimited maximum mintages except for the 1 t/oz coin, which had a limit of 30,000 coins. All the coins are made of .9999 24-carat fine gold and have reeded edges.

Apart from the different bullion weight and face value inscriptions engraved at the bottom-left and bottom-right sections of the obverse, all the Gold Year of the Horse coins have similar features on the obverse. Queen Elizabeth II’s fourth, crowned effigy, which was crafted by Ian Rank-Broadley, faces to the right with the inscription, “IRB” just below the neckline. The text, “ELIZABETH II” is on the top-left corner running clockwise above the effigy while the text, “AUSTRALIA” is on the top-right section of the coin above the forehead.

Similarly, the reverses have similar features with the dominant one being a galloping horse. The scenery is stylized with three clouds, rocks and a hill upon which the horse stands. The Chinese symbol of the horse is above the horse’s mane while the text, “Year of the Horse” is below it. The coin is a mintage of the Perth Mint established in June 1899. Trading in the Australian Gold Year of the Horse coins is exempt from sales tax or VAT.