Three months ago, CMIGS posted an article about The Perth Mint’s plans to close its Lunar Series. At that time, final orders for the Series were to be taken the last week in June. Now, final orders will be taken the last week in August.

The extension came about because the Treasury took longer than expected to approve the minting of the silver rat, ox and tiger coins, which were needed to complete the silver coins in the Series. The twelve gold coins were minted in their respective years.

The Lunar Series gold coins became popular with both gold investors and gold coin collectors worldwide. The exquisite quality of the coins and the popularity of the Lunar Calendar appealed to collectors. Bullion investors were drawn to the Series 1-oz gold coins because they were priced competitively with the best-selling American Eagle gold coins. In addition to gold coins from a recognized mint, investors also received the potential for the coins to pick up collector premiums, which they did.

CMIGS started recommending the year 2000 1-oz Gold Dragon coins when gold was trading in the $300 area. Today gold is trading in the $650 range, but the 1-oz Gold Dragons are $900 coins. The year 2002 1-oz Gold Horse coins also have tacked on big premiums, but the Dragons remain the key coins in the Lunar Series.

In our March 27 article about the Perth Mint closing its hugely successful Lunar Series, we failed to cover what the Perth Mint is going to do about the three silver Lunar years not minted: the Rat, the Ox, and the Tiger.

To bring everyone up to speed, the Mint began production of the gold Lunar Series coins in 1996 with the year of the Rat , but did not produce silver Lunar Series coins until 1999, with the year of the Rabbit. Since the Mint is taking final orders for the Series on June 30, unless it mints those three years in 2008, 2009, and 2010, collectors of the silver Lunar Series coins will not be able to complete their Series. Frankly, I think it would be major misstep of the Perth Mint failed to provide collectors of the silver Lunar Sires coins with coins of all the same design and dimensions.

The Mint has informed us (and as explained in the article) that for 2008 Rat (Mouse to some), which starts the next 12-year cycle of the Lunar Calendar, they will change drastically the look of the Lunar coins so that the first series coins will not be confused with the second series. When we find out what the Mint plans to do about the missing three silver Lunar Series coins, we will post here.

Although we sold quite a few silver Lunar Series coins, we never recommended them because of their high premiums, which make them collector items, not investment items.