Gilded Lunar Coins from the Perth Mint

The Perth Mint has been making fine silver lunar coins for some time. The first fine silver Lunar Series I coins were the 1999 Rabbit. Series 1 has now completed, and Series 2 is well along. Since the first issue these coins had a gilded version. The 2008, 2009, and 2010 coins were released in 2008, and the Series II coins began with the 2008 Mouse or Rat. One strange thing is that gilded coins were available in a box, or not in a box. Having bought some of the slightly lower priced coins with no box I can say resale was difficult. It is strongly recommended that you have a box. In 2004 a gilded and colorized monkey 5 ounce coin was minted, and a 5 ounce rooster was minted in 2005. These do not indicate an entire series of larger size gilded coins. Series I and Series II use different images, and are different physically. While both have a 0.999 fine silver gilded coin, the Series II coins have larger surfaces. This is because they are also thinner. So, if you buy a box, and the mint did sell them, make certain you get the box for your series, or they will not fit.