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[[File:2024-01-28-Release-YWAF-Dragon-Money.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Lunar New Year Wood Dragons on Silver Coins!]]
[[File:2024-01-28-Release-YWAF-Dragon-Money.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Lunar New Year Wood Dragons on Silver Coins!]]
[[File:2024-02-07-Release-YWAF-Dragon-Money.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Lucky Dragon Coins from All Around the World!]]  
[[File:2024-02-07-Release-YWAF-Dragon-Money.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Lucky Dragon Coins from All Around the World!]]  
[[File:2024-02-14-Release-YWAF-Dragon-Money.jpg|right|300px|thumb|It's Raining Dragon Money!]]


In this installment of "Your Wate and Fate," we take a sneak-peek look at an upcoming page that will eventually be on display to the public. As a Patreon supporter, you have access to the page one full week before the public does.  
In this installment of "Your Wate and Fate," we share a page that was funded by our Patrons for display to the public. Patreon supporters have access to our pages before the public does.  


: * Dragon Money Part One: '''Patreon Release Date: January 28th, 2024.'''
: * Dragon Money Part One: '''Patreon Release Date: January 28th, 2024.'''
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: * Dragon Money Part Two: '''Patreon Release Date: February 7th, 2024.'''
: * Dragon Money Part Two: '''Patreon Release Date: February 7th, 2024.'''
: * Dragon Money Part Two: '''Public Release Date: February 7th, 2024.'''
: * Dragon Money Part Two: '''Public Release Date: February 7th, 2024.'''
: * Dragon Money Part Two: '''Patreon Release Date: February 14th, 2024.'''
: * Dragon Money Part Two: '''Public Release Date: February 14th, 2024.'''


Please tell your friends that they can subscribe to my Patreon stream for $2.00 per week:
Please tell your friends that they can subscribe to my Patreon stream for $2.00 per week:
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[[File:Red-European-Dragon.jpg|400px|right|thumb|A young Red Dragon or Dragonet of Europe]]
[[File:Red-European-Dragon.jpg|400px|right|thumb|A young Red Dragon or Dragonet of Europe]]


[[File:Multi-Colour-Chinese-Dragon.jpg|400px|right|thumb|A multi-colour Chinese Dragon holdings its precious pearl]]
[[File:Multi-Colour-Chinese-Dragon.jpg|400px|right|thumb|A multi-colour Chinese Dragon holding its precious pearl]]


[[File:Island-Dragon-Postage-Stamp.jpg|400px|right|thumb|A Nordic Dragon on an Icelandic postage stamp]]
[[File:Island-Dragon-Postage-Stamp.jpg|400px|right|thumb|A Nordic Dragon on an Icelandic postage stamp]]
[[File:Horizontal-Dragon.jpg|thumb|right|400px|A colourful Chinese Dragon rampant]]
= Dragon Money<br> by nagasiva yronwode and catherine yronwode =
On this page we reveal a spectacular and detailed collection of Dragon Money, compiled in honour of the Lunar New Year Festival on February 10th, 2024, which is celebrated all around the world as the auspicious Year of the Dragon begins. Dozens of nations have chosen this time to issue lucky silver, gold, and copper coins and bullion displaying images of talismanic Asian dragons to mark an event that only happens every 12 years. We have gathered more than 80 different dragon coins from the past and present for your enjoyment, and added a quick guide to coin collecting for anyone who is new to the hobby and wants to start with Dragon Coins. Our Patrons usually get a one-year exclusive preview of our work documenting the material culture of magic and luck, but this time the whole world has been invited to click the link and share in the lure and lore of precious metal Dragon Money!
If you are new to coin collecting, then for more information, see our page on [[:Category:Lucky_Coins_and_Tokens|Lucky Coins and Tokens]].


= The Dragon =
= The Dragon =
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Because heraldry is so formalized in terms of each device's position, colour, and number, European Dragons tend to be shown in profile and they are less expressive than Asian Dragons, but they make up for this in terms of their beloved status as totemic emblems of certain regions and their citizenry.
Because heraldry is so formalized in terms of each device's position, colour, and number, European Dragons tend to be shown in profile and they are less expressive than Asian Dragons, but they make up for this in terms of their beloved status as totemic emblems of certain regions and their citizenry.
=== The Jersey Devil ===
The Jersey Devil originated in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey in the United States about 250 years ago. It closely resembles the European Dragons of the colonists who first described it, with a substantial body and four feet -- sometimes those of a horse or a goat, but sometimes goat-hooved at the rear and Dragon-clawed at the front. It has a pair of European Dragon wings, and the head of a horse, with long, back-swept goat horns. It is usually shown rearing up on its hind legs, like a horse or a goat.
== The American Horned Serpent ==
[[File:Objibwe-Horned-Serpent.jpg|thumb|right|400px|An Objibwe Horned Serpent or Manoominikeshiinh]]
The Horned Serpent is a saurian genus found in the histories and story-telling of many indigenous American tribes. Unlike the actual Horned Viper of Africa, these animals have a pair of elaborate horns -- sometimes Goat-like, sometimes Deer-like -- on their heads. They live in lakes and they are the size of large trees, so it is easy enough to see in them a description of fossilized aquatic dinosaurs. Their images can be found on rock art and in pottery designs throughout the United States, especially among the Southeastern Woodlands and Great Lakes tribes.
To the Muscogee people, Horned Serpents were underwater snakes covered with iridescent, crystalline scales and a large crystal on their foreheads. The Alabama people gave them the name Tcinto Såktco ("Crawfish Snake"). The Iroquois people told tales of a Horned Serpent named Djodi'kwado'. The Chickasaw called them Sishtahollo' ("Holy Snake"). The Sioux called them Unhcegila and described them as dangerous reptilian water monsters which lived in ancient times and were destroyed by the Thunderbirds (possibly Pterosaurs) until all that remained of their kind were small snakes and lizards. The Yuchi people of Tennessee, who were later forced to relocate to Oklahoma, made effigies of Horned Serpents from stuffed deer hides painted blue, with the antlers painted yellow. The Ojibwe and Chippewa tribes  told stories of Manoominikeshiinh, the great Horned Serpents who lived in the depths of Lake Superior.
The best-known Native American Horned Serpent is the Cherokee Uktena. The anthropologist James Mooney described it as "a great snake, as large around as a tree trunk, with horns on its head, and a bright blazing crest like a diamond on its forehead, and scales glowing like sparks of fire. It has rings or spots of color along its whole length, and can not be wounded except by shooting in the seventh spot from the head, because under this spot are its heart and its life. The blazing diamond is called Ulun'suti ("Transparent") and he who can win it may become the greatest wonder worker of the tribe."
===The Plumed Serpent===
A relative of the North American Horned Serpent is the Plumed or Feathered Serpent of Mexico and Guatemala. As the Aztecs and Mayans describe it, this dragon bears feathers on its head and may sport feathered wings. The most famous feathered serpent is Quetzalcoatl, the god of wind and rain. As with other dragons, he seems to be a dinosaur, and this is all the more remarkable because it wasn't until the 21st century that modern paleontologists realized that many dinosaurs were feathered, just like birds, and that birds are, in fact, very small remnant dinosaurs.


== The Asian Dragon ==
== The Asian Dragon ==


[[File:Horizontal-Dragon.jpg|thumb|right|400px|A colourful Chinese Dragon rampant]]
[[File:Horisontal-Golden-Chinese-Dragon.jpeg|400px|right|thumb|A Golden  Chinese Dragon]]


The Asian Dragon, a sinuous, reptilian beast, is revered as a religious, mythical, astronomical, and astrological figure. This Dragon may be associated with water, or may writhe through the sky. It usually has four feet and no wings. It may have whiskers or fish-like barbels on its face, and emit flames from its mouth.  
The Asian Dragon, a sinuous, reptilian beast, is revered as a religious, mythical, astronomical, and astrological figure. This Dragon may be associated with water, or may writhe through the sky. It usually has four feet and no wings. It may have whiskers or fish-like barbels on its face, and emit flames from its mouth.  


The role of the Asian Dragon, his guardianship of a precious flaming pearl, and his titular rulership of every 12th year of the Chinese zodiac are well known, even to non-Asians. If nothing more, they will encounter the dDragon on Chinese restaurant menus, where he stands out because he shares a spot on the Lunar New Year cycle with eleven other animals, all of whom are identifiable living species, while he is a creature of spiritual origin.  
The role of the Asian Dragon, his guardianship of a precious flaming pearl, and his titular rulership of every 12th year of the Chinese zodiac are well known, even to non-Asians. If nothing more, they will encounter the Dragon on Chinese restaurant menus, where he stands out because he shares a spot on the Lunar New Year cycle with eleven other animals, all of whom are identifiable living species, while he is a creature of spiritual origin.  


=== The Asian Dragon in Chinese Astrology ===
=== The Asian Dragon in Chinese Astrology ===
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It is customary at the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year to wish people "Gong Hei Fat Choy" ("Wish Happiness, Develop Fortune") and because at each year, a new animal of the Chinese Zodiac is celebrated, it is a popular practice to reinforce the wish for prosperity by giving the recipient of the wish a literal coin, minted that year and bearing an image of the current year's animal. 2024 is the year of the Dragon, and so we bring you many Dragon coins, with our best wishes!
It is customary at the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year to wish people "Gong Hei Fat Choy" ("Wish Happiness, Develop Fortune") and because at each year, a new animal of the Chinese Zodiac is celebrated, it is a popular practice to reinforce the wish for prosperity by giving the recipient of the wish a literal coin, minted that year and bearing an image of the current year's animal. 2024 is the year of the Dragon, and so we bring you many Dragon coins, with our best wishes!


= Dragon Money =
= Lucky Dragon Coins =


[[File:Chinese-Dragon-long-character.jpg|right|thumb|400px|thumb|left|The Chinese character "long" or "lung" ("Dragon") as it may appear on a Dragon coin]]
[[File:Chinese-Dragon-long-character.jpg|right|thumb|400px|thumb|left|The Chinese character "long" or "lung" ("Dragon") as it may appear on a Dragon coin]]
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With the diaspora of Chinese people leaving the oppressive regime of Communist China, the custom of giving Lunar Festival gifts embellished with the year's zodiac animal has spread around the world, and Chinese zodiac coins are now minted in a number of nations. Once the Dragon coins of 2000 had made a hit with non-Asian collectors, several nations with high Asian populations undertook to issue complete sets of zodiac animals. Some started their cycles with the year of the Earth Rat in 2008, but others joined the happy throng when the year of the Water Dragon came up in 2012. By this time online sales platforms had transformed how goods were sold, and more nations joined in the festive fun, and that again led to whole new cycles of Chinese zodiac coins and lunar astrology keepsakes in the form of stamps for each year's animal. With each 12-year lunar cycle, it seems that more nations have joined the list of those who produce lunar coinage or stamps.  
With the diaspora of Chinese people leaving the oppressive regime of Communist China, the custom of giving Lunar Festival gifts embellished with the year's zodiac animal has spread around the world, and Chinese zodiac coins are now minted in a number of nations. Once the Dragon coins of 2000 had made a hit with non-Asian collectors, several nations with high Asian populations undertook to issue complete sets of zodiac animals. Some started their cycles with the year of the Earth Rat in 2008, but others joined the happy throng when the year of the Water Dragon came up in 2012. By this time online sales platforms had transformed how goods were sold, and more nations joined in the festive fun, and that again led to whole new cycles of Chinese zodiac coins and lunar astrology keepsakes in the form of stamps for each year's animal. With each 12-year lunar cycle, it seems that more nations have joined the list of those who produce lunar coinage or stamps.  


We have now arrived at 2024. More and more Asian people are relocating away from the repressions of Chinese Communism, and bringing their beloved cultural traditions to the West -- and this year the number of nations issuing Dragon coins is astounding. Not only that, as non-circulating bullion coins, they are receiving a number of high-tech beautification, such as colourization, metalization, gilding, and three-dimensional sculptural relief, and are being issued in vary limited numbers, to increase their collector value.  
We have now arrived at 2024. More and more Asian people are relocating away from the repressions of Chinese Communism, and bringing their beloved cultural traditions to the West -- and this year the number of nations issuing Dragon coins is astounding. Not only that, as non-circulating bullion coins, they are receiving a number of high-tech beautification, such as colourization, metalization, gilding, and three-dimensional sculptural relief, and are being issued in very limited numbers, to increase their collector value.  


Meanwhile, in European nations with their own traditions of Dragons which are not connected to astrology, heraldic Dragon coins may be issued at any time.
Meanwhile, in European nations with their own traditions of Dragons which are not connected to astrology, heraldic Dragon coins may be issued at any time.


== Coin Denominations and Values ==
== Obverse and Reverse ==  
 
=== Circulating Coins===
 
Coins, by definition, are money issued by a body -- usually a nation -- that has the authority to set their value by marking them with a denomination that includes a number and the name of the coinage of the issuing body, such as "One Dollar" or "One Pound." Aside from a few coins specially minted as proof coins and never released to the public, most coins go into circulation, where they gradually wear out as they pass from hand to hand. If a collector withdraws a coin from circulation it may be preserved and can be graded, with a "mint state" grade that affects its valuation as a collectible.
 
Since the 20th century, when first the gold standard and then the silver standard were abandoned, the actual value of precious metals has fluctuated daily, because gold and silver, along with several other metals, are now treated as commodities, not as the reserves with which a nation backs its issuance of currency. This means that coins minted of real silver or gold now have values aside from their collectible grade. They also have value as precious metals or commodities.
 
 
[[File:World-and-European-Coins.jpg|600px|center|thumb|World Coins of assorted metals and varied denominations that have been found in general circulation]]
 
=== Bullion Coins and Bullion Rounds ===
 
For reasons not always entirely clear, nations are reluctant to abandon the use of precious metals as legal tender, so most of them now issue what is known as denominated bullion coinage -- coins of a known weight and purity of precious metal that are given an arbitrary denomination, but are fully expected to be traded on the open market with reference to the daily spot price of the metals from which they are made, or their rarity or condition, to which may be added a premium or surcharge based on their collector value.
 
The most popular weight for bullion coins is 1 troy ounce (which is not the same as a commercial or avoirdupois ounce), and the standard of purity is generally .999 pure, in contrast to the 90% silver and 10% copper of old U.S. coins such as the Morgan dollar, for example. Thus, in addition to its base metal "clad" coins, the U.S. government currently issues 1 troy ounce .999 pure silver coins called American Silver Eagles, with a One Dollar denomination, in the full knowledge that they will be treated as bullion coins on the open market and their value will fluctuate daily at 25-30 times their denominated value. Likewise, the 1 troy ounce coins called American Gold Eagles, containing 91.67% gold, 3% silver, and 5.33% copper, are issued by U.S. Mint with a Fifty Dollar denomination, in the full knowledge that their market value will be from 38 - 45 times that value, depending on the spot price of gold.
 
 
[[File:American-Eagle-Silver-Dollars-Gold-Coin.jpg|600px|center|thumb|American Silver Eagles and an American Gold Eagle; these are bullion coins and although anyone can purchase them, they are not circulated at their denominational value.]]
 
 
Once the denominations on coins -- especially silver coins -- were disconnected from any set value, non-governmental mints began to produce their own disk-shaped bullion pieces. If circular, these are generally called "rounds," to distinguish them from "coins."  The most popular weight for silver bullion rounds is 1 troy ounce, but they can be found in higher weights, up tp a kilo (2.2 pounds) piece.
 
=== Unusually-Shaped Coins and Bullion ===
 
Although the disk shape has always been the most popular form for coins, both nationally authorized coins and privately minted bullion have been minted and cast in other forms, including ingots, minted bars, cast bars, and cast and stamped lumps, and figurative shapes.
 
The release of artistic figurative coinage and bullion with very low mintage numbers -- generally under 1,000 pieces -- is a popular way for small nations to add a high premium to a beautiful collectible with a low denomination, and thus bring in money from collectors world wide. Along with local flora and fauna coins and licensed character coins from popular culture, Dragon coins, because of their popular imagery, are one of the best ways for small nations to enter the field of what has come to be known as "collectible money."
 
=== Coin Values ===
 
Coins can be valued in several ways:
: * '''Valuation by Denomination as Legal Tender:''' ''An 1881 U.S. Morgan dollar was issued with a worth of one dollar.''
 
: * '''Valuation by Precious Metal Content:''' An item's weight times the spot price of the metals of which is comprised on a given day, which is also known as its "melt value" gives a rough valuation of its worth, although a reseller will pay "under spot" in order to offset the cost of doing business and to make a profit, and a refiner may pay less, to offset the work of separating and refining the various metals to purity. ''An 1881 Morgan dollar contains 0.7734 troy ounces of silver, which may be worth anywhere from $17.00 - 25.00, depending on the spot price of silver on a given day.''
 
: * '''Valuation by Numismatic or Collector Value:''' These forms of valuation are based on an item's rarity, historicity, mint mark, condition, or aesthetic appeal. ''A high-grade 1881 U.S. Morgan dollar may worth about $35.00 - $500.00 or more depending on its condition and where it was minted.''
 
== Some Numismatic Terminology ==
 
In order to enjoy this collection of Dragon coins and bullion, a few numismatic definitions are in order.
 
: * '''Antiqued:''' A deliberately tarnished finish on silver coins that makes them look old, but retains their details perfectly is said to have been antiqued. The antiquing is done by briefly dipping the coin in a chemical bath. Actually old and worn silver coins do not have a dull grey antiqued finish; they are worn down by repeated handling and their tarnish is the result of environmental factors.
 
: * '''Bar:''' A bar is a rectangular-shaped coin or piece of bullion. Bars may be minted or they may be cast or poured. The same mints that produce circular coins or bullion may also produce bars.
 
: * '''Certificate of Authenticity or CoA:''' Collectible coins and bullion, especially those with low mintage numbers and high premiums are sometimes sold in presentation boxes with certificates of authenticity. Chinese counterfeiters are unfazed by this: they not only counterfeit the coins, they also counterfeit the certificates of authenticity.
 
: * '''Colourized and Metalized:''' A coin which has been decorated by adhering a thin plastic membrane on which a transparent colour image is printed is said to be "colourized." If a metalic ink was used, it is said to be "metalized." Holographic desisigns are also used on collectible coins and bullion to make them stand out. Some coins are issued with official colourized variants, while other colourizations are after-market additions. Colourization and metalization are easily removed from a coin by dissolving the adhesive and gently peeling the layer of plastic away.
 
: * '''Counterfeit, Fake, Replica, Copy,and Fantasy Coins:''' The counterfeiting of valuable antique coins is a form of art forgery; modern coins with high value are also counterfeited and circulated, which is a form of fraud. China is the greatest source of counterfeits, fakes, restrikes, and fantasy Coins. However, rather than risk Federal prosecution by counterfeiting contemporary coins, the manufacturers have taken to counterfeiting vintage or antique coins, especially those that were originally issued in silver or gold. These are generally made of a non-precious base metal and electroplated with a thin coating of silver or gold. They are often marketed as "replicas" from China, to bypass U.S. laws against counterfeiting, but once they enter the United States, they are intentionally sold as authentic numismatic collectibles on a wide variety of internet platforms. The coins being faked include many old and rare U.S. coins, and also 19th and 20th century Chinese Dragon Money. Sometimes the art on the fake Chinese Dragon coins is composited from that on mis-matching Chinese coins, and these are sometimes called "fantasy coins" because they are not direct counterfeits or fakes of any known coin.
 
 
[[File:Vintage-Cash-Register-Money-Drawer.jpg|600px|center|thumb|An old cash register with authentic pre-1964 silver and nickel U.S. coins of varied denominations; some are more tarnished or worn than others, but none of them have been artificially "antiqued."]]
 
 
: * '''Obverse and Reverse:''' When photographing coins for sale, it seems to be the convention, both by mints and by secondary coin dealers, to consider the Dragon as the image on the obverse or front of the coin, even though it is technically the image on the reverse or back of the coin. This is especially the case with nations that have a standard obverse, such as the portrait of a monarch; it is boring to see the same obverse as the lead image on coin after coin, Thus the merchants, mints, and coin dealers wish to present the Dragon first, even though it is on the back of the coin. In other words, the Dragons are usually the first image shown, and thus either larger or placed on the left side of a composite photo. We have retained the proper designation of "reverse" for these dragons, while setting them in the left-hand position in our series for purpose of showcasing them.
 
: * '''Plated or Gilded:''' When a thin layer of gold is adhered to a silver or copper coin through the electroplating process, it is said to be gilded or gold-plated. When silver is applied, the terms used are silvered or silver-plated. The amount of gold or silver is not enough to change the intrinsic melt-value of the coin, but it may be issued in a limited edition for aesthetic reasons and to increase its collectibility.
 
: * '''Proof and Reverse Proof:''' A proof coin is one struck with a highly polished die, resulting in the flat areas or "fields" having a mirror-like finish. A reverse proof coin is generally only made for collectors. The flat areas or fields are frosted and the high relief areas are polished to a mirror finish. Such coins carry a high premium and are never circulated.
 
: * '''Relief, Bas-Relief, High Relief, and Ultra-High Relief:''' Coins made for circulation generally are provided with a slightly raised rim so that the sculptural relief of the image, known as bas-relief or low relief, stays below that level and is protected from wear. (One coin which is notable for the mis-matching of its edge rim and its bas-relief is the Morgan dollar -- Lady Liberty's cheek is just a tiny bit too high to be protected by the rim and is thus subject to scruffs, dings, and scratches. Even worse is the old Standing Liberty half dollar, about which the less said, the better.) High relief, in which the image sticks up above the rim, is found on collector coins and bullion; such pieces would be damaged almost immediately if placed in circulation. Ultra-High relief coins are those which are fully sculptural and almost leap out at the viewer. They may not even contain a protective rim. They are rarely handled, for fear of damaging them, and are usually stored in capsules or custom cases.
 
: * '''Restrike Coin:'' When an old coin design is re-used exactly as it first appeared, in the same metals and the same denomination, and is issued by the same mint, it is sometimes called a "restrike coin." However, most so-called restrikes, especially those from China, are better characterized as fantasy coins if they are actually made of precious metals, because they are minted with obviously new or reworked dies. If they are base metal with a precious metal plating, they are better labelled as counterfeits, replicas, copies, or fakes or fantasy-fakes.
 
== How the Dragon Money is Organized on This Page ==


When photographing collectible coins for sale, it seems to be the convention, both by mints and by secondary coin dealers, to consider the special or collectible image -- such as a Dragon  -- to be the image on the obverse or front of the coin, even though it is technically the image on the reverse or back of the coin. This is especially the case with nations that have a standard obverse, such as the portrait of a monarch; it is boring to see the same obverse as the lead image on coin after coin, Thus the merchants, mints, and coin dealers wish to present the Dragon first, even though it is on the back of the coin. In other words, the Dragons are usually the first image shown, and thus either larger or placed on the left side of a composite photo. We have retained the proper designation of "reverse" for these dragons, while setting them in the left-hand position in our series for purpose of showcasing them.
<!--== How the Dragon Money is Organized on This Page ==


: * Nation or Mint within a Nation, in Alphabetical Order  
: * Nation or Mint within a Nation, in Alphabetical Order  
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: * Finish, if notable; e.g. antiqued, proof, reverse proof, cast
: * Finish, if notable; e.g. antiqued, proof, reverse proof, cast
: * Obverse or Reverse
: * Obverse or Reverse
: * Specific Name of Mint, if known
: * Specific Name of Mint, if known-->


= Dragon Coins and Bullion by Nation =  
= Dragon Coins and Bullion by Nation =  
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== AUSTRALIA ==
== AUSTRALIA ==


Australia is a former British colony that is now sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. In 1901 it was established as the Commonwealth of Australia. The Australia Act 1986 proided an independent government for Australia while maintaining the monarch of the United Kingdom as the monarch OF Australia in an independent capacity. Thus all Australian coinage bears an image of the currently reigning monarch. Of all the nations outside of China, Australia has been the most consistent producer of Dragon money since 2000, and has not limited its output to successive Years of the Dragon.  
Australia is a former British colony that is now sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. In 1901 it was established as the Commonwealth of Australia. The Australia Act 1986 provided an independent government for Australia while maintaining the monarch of the United Kingdom as the monarch OF Australia in an independent capacity. Thus all Australian coinage bears an image of the currently reigning monarch.  
 
Of all the nations outside of China, Australia has been the most consistent producer of Dragon money since 2000, and has not limited its output to successive Years of the Dragon. The country began producing the Lunar Series I in 1999, and then becgan over with Lunar Series II coins in 2008, and continued with Lunar Series III coins.  


=== Perth Mint ===
=== Perth Mint ===


The Perth Mint, located in the city of Perth, is Australia's official bullion mint and is wholly owned by the Government of Western Australia. Founded in 19001, it is the older of Australia's two mints, the other being the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra, which produces Australian dollar coins for circulation as legal tender. The Perth Mint is known for the extremly high quality and beauty of its bullion coins, minted bars, and cast bars. It also functions as the official mint for a number of small nations that lack their own mints.  
The Perth Mint, located in the city of Perth, is Australia's official bullion mint and is wholly owned by the Government of Western Australia. Founded in 19001, it is the older of Australia's two mints, the other being the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra, which produces Australian dollar coins for circulation as legal tender. The Perth Mint is known for the extremely high quality and beauty of its bullion coins, minted bars, and cast bars. It also functions as the official mint for a number of small nations that lack their own mints.  


==== 2000 ====
==== 2000 ====
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==== 2012 ====
==== 2012 ====
<!-- Australian 2012 Year of the Dragon Gold and Silver Bullion Coins Available
https://www.coinnews.net/2011/10/06/australian-2012-year-of-the-dragon-gold-and-silver-bullion-coins-available/ -->
<!-- 2012 Australian Year of the Dragon Silver Proof Coin in Five Ounces
https://www.coinnews.net/2012/06/05/2012-australian-year-of-the-dragon-silver-proof-coin-in-five-ounces/ -->
in October  2023, the 2012 Year of the Dragon Gold and Silver Bullion Coins were issued in seven different sizes, ranging from 1/20 ounce all the way to 10 kilo. All gold coins bore one design and all silver coins bore another.


<center>
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File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-2012-Silver-Coin-High-Relief-Year-of-the-Dragon-obverse.jpg|'''Australia, 2012''', 2 Dollars, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, reverse, Silver Proof High Relief, Queen Elizabeth II, "Elizabeth II," "Australia," 2 oz 999 Silver," "2012," "2 Dollars;" Mintage 7,500. Perth Mint.
File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-2012-Silver-Coin-High-Relief-Year-of-the-Dragon-obverse.jpg|'''Australia, 2012''', 2 Dollars, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, reverse, Silver Proof High Relief, Queen Elizabeth II, "Elizabeth II," "Australia," 2 oz 999 Silver," "2012," "2 Dollars;" Mintage 7,500. Perth Mint.


File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-2012-Silver-Colourized-Coin-ANDA-Show-Special-Brisbane-Dragon-reverse.jpg|'''Australia, 2012''' Brisbane ANDA Coin Show Special - Australian Lunar Series II - 2012 Year of the Dragon 1oz Silver Coloured Edition. The 2012 Brisbane ANDA Coin Show Special features a purple colour Dragon. Specimen quality 99.9% silver coloured coin; Dragon reverse design; Australian legal tender 1 Dollar;  Brisbane ANDA coin show packaging; Mintage: 5,000. Perth Mint. ANDA is the Australasian Numismatic Dealers Association, incorporated in 1995; they host an annual Money Expo where new coin releases are shown. They have a membership of 62 persons and businesses in Australia and New Zealand.
File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-2012-Silver-Colourized-Coin-ANDA-Show-Special-Brisbane-Dragon-reverse.jpg|'''Australia, 2012''', Brisbane ANDA Coin Show Special - Australian Lunar Series II - 2012 Year of the Dragon 1 oz. Silver Coloured Edition. The 2012 Brisbane ANDA Coin Show Special features a purple colour Dragon. Specimen quality 99.9% silver coloured coin; Dragon reverse design; Australian legal tender 1 Dollar;  Brisbane ANDA coin show packaging; Mintage: 5,000. Perth Mint. (ANDA is the Australasian Numismatic Dealers Association, incorporated in 1995; they host an annual Money Expo where new coin releases are shown. They have a membership of 62 persons and businesses in Australia and New Zealand.)
 
File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-2012-Silver-Colourized-Coin-ANDA-Show-Special-Melbourne-Dragon-reverse.jpg|'''Australia, 2012''', Melbourne ANDA Coin Show Special - Australian Lunar Series II - 2012 Year of the Dragon 1 oz. Silver Coloured Edition. The 2012 Melbourne ANDA Coin Show Special features a yellow colour Dragon. Specimen quality 99.9% silver coloured coin; Dragon reverse design; Australian legal tender 1 Dollar; Melbourne ANDA coin show packaging; Mintage, 5,000. Perth Mint. (ANDA is the Australasian Numismatic Dealers Association, incorporated in 1995; they host an annual Money Expo where new coin releases are shown. They have a membership of 62 persons and businesses in Australia and New Zealand.)


File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-2012-Silver-Colourized-Coin-ANDA-Show-Special-Melbourne-Dragon-reverse.jpg|'''Australia, 2012''' Melbourne ANDA Coin Show Special - Australian Lunar Series II - 2012 Year of the Dragon 1oz Silver Coloured Edition. The 2012 Melbourne ANDA Coin Show Special features a yellow colour Dragon. Specimen quality 99.9% silver coloured coin; Dragon reverse design; Australian legal tender 1 Dollar; Melbourne ANDA coin show packaging; Mintage, 5,000. Perth Mint. ANDA is the Australasian Numismatic Dealers Association, incorporated in 1995; they host an annual Money Expo where new coin releases are shown. They have a membership of 62 persons and businesses in Australia and New Zealand.
File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-2012-Silver-Colourized-Coin-ANDA-Show-Special-Sydney-Dragon-reverse.jpg|'''Australia, 2012''', Sydney ANDA Coin Show Special - Australian Lunar Series II - 2012 Year of the Dragon 1 oz. Silver Coloured Edition. The 2012 Sydney ANDA Coin Show Special features a turquoise colour Dragon. Specimen quality 99.9% silver coloured coin; Dragon reverse design; Australian legal tender 1 Dollar; Sydney ANDA coin show packaging; Mintage: 5,000. Perth Mint. (ANDA is the Australasian Numismatic Dealers Association, incorporated in 1995; they host an annual Money Expo where new coin releases are shown. They have a membership of 62 persons and businesses in Australia and New Zealand.)


File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-2012-Silver-Colourized-Coin-ANDA-Show-Special-Sydney-Dragon-reverse.jpg|'''Australia, 2012''' Sydney ANDA Coin Show Special - Australian Lunar Series II - 2012 Year of the Dragon 1oz Silver Coloured Edition. The 2012 Sydney ANDA Coin Show Special features a turquoise colour Dragon. Specimen quality 99.9% silver coloured coin; Dragon reverse design; Australian legal tender 1 Dollar; Sydney ANDA coin show packaging; Mintage: 5,000. Perth Mint. ANDA is the Australasian Numismatic Dealers Association, incorporated in 1995; they host an annual Money Expo where new coin releases are shown. They have a membership of 62 persons and businesses in Australia and New Zealand.
File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-2012-Year-of-the-Dragon-Silver--Colorized-10-Coin-Set.jpg|'''Australia, 2012''', Australian Lunar Series II - 2012 Year of the Dragon 1 oz. Silver Coloured Edition in Special Packaging. By the end of the year, a full set of 10 of these coins was available. Nine of them featured the Dragon colourized in different hues, including red, blue, brown, purple, silver, white, yellow, black, and gold. The tenth coin offered the traditional bullion finish without any colouring added. They were issued in a special red and black case that held the full array, with a CoA. Mintage of the packaged set: 2,500. Perth Mint.


</gallery>
</gallery>
</center>
</center>
Specifications for Australia 2012 Year of the Dragon Silver Bullion Coins
<pre>
Size Face Value  Maximum Mintage
10 Kilo  $300        500
1 Kilo  $30     unlimited
10 Oz. $10     unlimited
5 Oz. $8     unlimited Issued in a presentation case with a numbered CoA
2 Oz. $2     unlimited
1 Oz. $1     300,000    9 colourized variations: 5,000 each; full set of 10 variations: 2,500
1/2 Oz.  $.50     unlimited
</pre>
<center>
<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">
File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-2012-Gold-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-High-Relief-Proof-reverse.jpg|'''Australia, 2012''', Australian Lunar Series II - 2012 Year of the Dragon 1 oz. High Relief Gold Proof Coin. The reverse of this proof coin features a Dragon on a concave surface with a pearl of wisdom to the right Below, the Chinese character for ‘dragon’, the inscription "Year of the Dragon," and the Perth Mint’s ‘P’ mintmark. Mintage: 388; only 38 available in Australia with the rest issued worldwide. Perth Mint.
File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-2012-Gold-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-High-Relief-Proof-obverse.jpg|'''Australia, 2012''', Australian Lunar Series II - 2012 Year of the Dragon 1 oz. High Relief Gold Proof Coin. The obverse of the proof coin has the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Queen Elizabeth II. Obverse inscriptions include "ELIZABETH II," "IRB," "AUSTRALIA," "1 oz 9999 GOLD," "2012" and "100 DOLLARS." Mintage: 388; only 38 available in Australia with the rest issued worldwide. Perth Mint.
</gallery>
</center>
Specifications for Australia 2012 Year of the Dragon Gold Bullion Coins
<pre>
Size Face Value  Maximum Mintage
10 Kilo  $30,000    100
1 Kilo $3,000      unlimited
10 Oz. $1,000      unlimited
2 Oz. $200        unlimited
1 Oz. $100     30,000 The 1 oz. High Relief Gold Proof was limited to 388 coins 
1/2 Oz.  $50     unlimited
1/4 Oz.  $25     unlimited
1/10 Oz. $15        unlimited
1/20 Oz. $5          unlimited
</pre>


==== 2017 ====
==== 2017 ====
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<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">
<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">


File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-2021-Silver-Coin-Myths-and-Legends-Series-Dragon-bu-reverse.jpg|'''Australia, 2021''', 1 Dollar, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, reverse, Chinese Dragon, face-right, grasping a flaming pearl with its front right claws, "NM" on the right, near the Dragon's front left claws (for the designer, Natasha Muhl). Perth Mint.
File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-2021-Silver-Coin-Myths-and-Legends-Series-Dragon-bu-reverse.jpg|'''Australia, 2021''', 1 Dollar, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, reverse, Chinese Dragon, face-left, grasping a flaming pearl with its front right claws, "NM" on the right, near the Dragon's front left claws (for the designer, Natasha Muhl). Perth Mint.


File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-2021-Silver-Coin-Myths-and-Legends-Series-Dragon-bu-obverse.jpg|'''Australia, 2021''', 1 Dollar, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, obverse, Queen Elizabeth II (6th Portrait) face-right, "Elizabeth II," "Australia," "1oz 9999 Ag," "2021," "1 Dollar;" "JC" to the left of the bust (for the designer, Jody Clark).
File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-2021-Silver-Coin-Myths-and-Legends-Series-Dragon-bu-obverse.jpg|'''Australia, 2021''', 1 Dollar, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, obverse, Queen Elizabeth II (6th Portrait) face-right, "Elizabeth II," "Australia," "1oz 9999 Ag," "2021," "1 Dollar;" "JC" to the left of the bust (for the designer, Jody Clark).
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File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-2021-Silver-Rectangular-Coin-Dragon-bu-obverse.jpg|'''Australia, 2021''', 1 Dollar, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Rectangular Coin, obverse, Queen Elizabeth II  (6th Portrait) face-right, "Elizabeth II," "Australia," "1oz 9999 Ag," "2021," "1 Dollar;" "JC" to the left of the bust (for the designer, Jody Clark).
File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-2021-Silver-Rectangular-Coin-Dragon-bu-obverse.jpg|'''Australia, 2021''', 1 Dollar, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Rectangular Coin, obverse, Queen Elizabeth II  (6th Portrait) face-right, "Elizabeth II," "Australia," "1oz 9999 Ag," "2021," "1 Dollar;" "JC" to the left of the bust (for the designer, Jody Clark).
File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-2021-Gold-Rectangular-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-reverse.jpg|'''Australia, 2021''', 100 Dollars, 1 Oz. of .999 Gold, Rectangular Coin, reverse, Chinese Dragon face-front, a "P" on the top right, indicating the mint. No other letters. Perth Mint.
File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-2021-Gold-Rectangular-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-obverse.jpg|'''Australia, 2021''', 100 Dollar, 1 Oz. of .999 Gold, Rectangular Coin, obverse, Queen Elizabeth II  (6th Portrait) face-right, "Elizabeth II," "Australia," "1oz 9999 Au," "2021," "1 Dollar;" "JC" to the left of the bust (for the designer, Jody Clark).


</gallery>
</gallery>
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File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-2023-Silver-Coin-Antiqued-Dragon-and-Koi-bu-reverse.jpg|'''Australia, 2023''', 1 Dollar, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, reverse, Antiqued, a central flaming pearl with a Chinese Dragon above it about to bite it and below it a Koi fish leaping out of the river of which both are poised, an arched bridge; "P" for the issuing mint, "WR" (for the designer, Wade Robinson). Perth Mint.
File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-2023-Silver-Coin-Antiqued-Dragon-and-Koi-bu-reverse.jpg|'''Australia, 2023''', 1 Dollar, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, reverse, Antiqued, a central flaming pearl with a Chinese Dragon above it about to bite it and below it a Koi fish leaping out of the river of which both are poised, an arched bridge; "P" for the issuing mint, "WR" (for the designer, Wade Robinson). Perth Mint.


File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-2023-Silver-Coin-Colored-Dragon-and-Koi-bu-reverse.jpg|'''Australia, 2023''', 1 Dollar, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, obv/reverse, Colourized, a central flaming pearl with a Chinese Dragon above it about to bite it and below it a Koi fish leaping out of the river of which both are poised, an arched bridge; "P" for the issuing mint, "WR" (for the designer, Wade Robinson). Perth Mint.
File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-2023-Silver-Coin-Colored-Dragon-and-Koi-bu-reverse.jpg|'''Australia, 2023''', 1 Dollar, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, reverse, Colourized, a central flaming pearl with a Chinese Dragon above it about to bite it and below it a Koi fish leaping out of the river of which both are poised, an arched bridge; "P" for the issuing mint, "WR" (for the designer, Wade Robinson). Perth Mint.


File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-2023-Silver-Rectangular-Coin-Dragon-reverse.png|'''Australia, 2023''', 1 Dollar, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Rectangular Coin, reverse, Chinese Dragon, face-left, behind and below statues and riches may be seen as the Dragon's hoard; "P" for the issuing mint, "WR" (for the designer, Wade Robinson). Perth Mint.
File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-2023-Silver-Rectangular-Coin-Dragon-reverse.png|'''Australia, 2023''', 1 Dollar, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Rectangular Coin, reverse, Chinese Dragon, face-left, behind and below statues and riches may be seen as the Dragon's hoard; "P" for the issuing mint, "WR" (for the designer, Wade Robinson). Perth Mint.
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File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-Gold-Coin-Lunar-Year-of-the-Dragon-obverse.jpeg|'''Australia, 2024''', 100 Dollars, 1 Oz. of .9999 Gold, Coin, obverse, Queen Elizabeth II (6th Portrait), face-right, "Elizabeth II 1952-2022," "Australia 2024," "1 oz 9999 Au," "100 Dollars;" "JC" to the left of the bust (for the designer, Jody Clark).
File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-Gold-Coin-Lunar-Year-of-the-Dragon-obverse.jpeg|'''Australia, 2024''', 100 Dollars, 1 Oz. of .9999 Gold, Coin, obverse, Queen Elizabeth II (6th Portrait), face-right, "Elizabeth II 1952-2022," "Australia 2024," "1 oz 9999 Au," "100 Dollars;" "JC" to the left of the bust (for the designer, Jody Clark).
</gallery>
</center>
<center>
<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">
File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-2024-Gold-Bar-Dragon-Perth-Bullion-reverse.jpg|'''Perth Mint, 2024''', gold Dragon bullion bar, 1 oz of 99.99 purity, reverse. Left-facing Dragon with a pearl, Chinese ideogram Lung (Dragon), "Dragon." Packaged in a decorative Cherry Blossom assay card, serially numbered. Mintage 30,000. Perth Mint.
File:1-oz-AUSTRALIA-2024-Gold-Bar-Dragon-Perth-Bullion-obverse.jpg|'''Perth Mint, 2024''', gold Dragon bullion bar, 1 oz of 99.99 purity, obverse. Swan logo, "The Perth Mint, Australia" "99.99% Pure Gold," "1 Ounce."Packaged in a decorative Cherry Blossom assay card, serially numbered. Mintage 30,000. Perth Mint


</gallery>
</gallery>
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== BHUTAN ==
== BHUTAN ==


Bhutan, officially known as the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a small Asian nation in the Himalayas, between Tibet in north and India in the south. The capital city is Thimphu. To the people who live there, the name of the country is "Druk Yul" -- "The Land of the Thunder Dragon" and the national emblem of Bhutan consists of a double dorje symbol surrounded by two dragons. In a sense, this means that almost every coin from Bhutan is  Dragon Money, because the national emblem appears on the obverse of almost every Bhutanese coin -- but for our purposes here we will only be showing coins with dragons on the reverse as well.
Bhutan, officially known as the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a small Asian nation in the Himalayas, between Tibet in north and India in the south. The capital city is Thimphu. To the people who live there, the name of the country is "Druk Yul" -- "The Land of the Thunder Dragon" and the national emblem of Bhutan consists of a double dorje symbol surrounded by two dragons. In a sense, this means that almost every coin from Bhutan is  Dragon Money, because the national emblem appears on the obverse of almost every Bhutanese coin -- but for our purposes here we will only be showing coins with dragons on the reverse as well. The standard unit of coinage is the Ngultrum.


=== Unknown Mint ===
=== B.H. Mayer’s Kunstprageanstalt  ===


We do not know the name of the mint which produces the coinage of the Kingdom of Bhutan. The standard unit of coinage is the Ngultrum.
B.H. Mayer’s Kunstprageanstalt, a small, private art-mint in of Karlsfeld, Germany, has produced at least some of the coinage of the Kingdom of Bhutan.  


==== 1996 ====
==== 1996 ====


In 1996 Bhutan issued a complete set of all 12 zodiac animals, in stylized form, each labelled "Year of the [Animal], with eight decades of the animal's calendar years imprinted around the image of the animal and the words "300 Ngultrum." They weighed 31.5 grams or 1.012749 troy ounces, and were made of .9250 pure silver.  
In 1996 Bhutan issued a complete set of all 12 zodiac animals, in stylized form, each labelled "Year of the [Animal], with nine decades of the animal's calendar years imprinted around the image of the animal, and the words "300 Ngultrum." They weighed 31.5 grams or 1.012749 troy ounces, and were made of .9250 pure silver. We will only consider the Dragon coin here.
 
<center>
<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">
 
File:1-oz-BHUTAN-1996-Silver-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-proof-obverse.jpg|'''Bhutan, 1996''', 1 oz. .999 Silver, 300 Ngultrum, Silver Coin, A caricature of a dragon amongst clouds, "1916 - 1928 - 1940 - 1952 - 1964 - 1976 - 1988 - 2000 - 2012," "Year of the Dragon," "300 Ngultrum."
 
File:1-oz-BHUTAN-1996-Silver-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-proof-reverse.jpg|'''Bhutan, 1996''', 1 oz. .999 Silver, 300 Ngultrum, Silver Coin, the national emblem of a viśvavajra (double vajra or double dorje) and two mirrored dragons, "Kingdom of Bhutan," "1996" (x2), and an inscription in Dzongkha script: "Druk Yul" ("Land of the Thunder Dragon").  


The obverse bears the national emblem of a viśvavajra (double vajra or double dorje) and two mirrored dragons,the date "1996" twice,  the words "Kingdom of Bhutan," and an inscription in Dzongkha script: "Druk Yul" ("Land of the Thunder Dragon").
</gallery>
</center>


Image coming soon!
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https://www.coinsberg.com/web/image/35942-0b9b108/bhutan_300_ngultrums_year_of_the_dragon_proof_silver_coin_1996.jpg -->
https://www.coinsberg.com/web/image/35942-0b9b108/bhutan_300_ngultrums_year_of_the_dragon_proof_silver_coin_1996.jpg -->
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<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">
<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">


File:1-oz-BHUTAN-2000-Gold-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-obverse.jpg|'''Bhutan, 2000''' Dragon with pearl and diamond-shaped decorations, in front of a viśvavajra (double vajra or double dorje). "2000," "1 oz. Gold 999.9," "3000 Ngultrum"  Mint: B.H. Mayer’s Kunstprageanstalt GmbH, Karlsfeld, Germany.
File:1-oz-BHUTAN-2000-Gold-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-obverse.jpg|'''Bhutan, 2000''' Dragon with pearl and diamond-shaped decorations, in front of a viśvavajra (double vajra or double dorje). "2000," "1 oz. Gold 999.9," "3000 Ngultrum"  Mint: B.H. Mayer’s Kunstprageanstalt.


File:1-oz-BHUTAN-2000-Gold-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-reverse.jpg|'''Bhutan, 2000''' The obverse bears the national emblem of a viśvavajra (double vajra or double dorje) and two mirrored dragons, the words "Kingdom of Bhutan," and an inscription in Dzongkha script: "Druk Yul" ("Land of the Thunder Dragon").  
File:1-oz-BHUTAN-2000-Gold-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-reverse.jpg|'''Bhutan, 2000''' The obverse bears the national emblem of a viśvavajra (double vajra or double dorje) and two mirrored dragons, the words "Kingdom of Bhutan," and an inscription in Dzongkha script: "Druk Yul" ("Land of the Thunder Dragon"). Mint: B.H. Mayer’s Kunstprageanstalt.


</gallery>
</gallery>
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File:1-oz-CANADA-2012-Silver-Lotus-Shaped-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-obverse.jpg|'''Canada, 2012''', 15 Dollars, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Lotus-Shaped Coin, obverse, Queen Elizabeth II, "15 Dollars," "Canada," Elizabeth II, "2012." Royal Canadian Mint, Ottawa.
File:1-oz-CANADA-2012-Silver-Lotus-Shaped-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-obverse.jpg|'''Canada, 2012''', 15 Dollars, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Lotus-Shaped Coin, obverse, Queen Elizabeth II, "15 Dollars," "Canada," Elizabeth II, "2012." Royal Canadian Mint, Ottawa.
</gallery>
</center>
==== 2019 ====
<center>
<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">
File:1-oz-CANADA-2024-Silver-Coin-Lucky-reverse.png|'''Canada, 2019''', 5 Dollars, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, reverse, Chinese Dragon, "Canada," "9999 Fine Silver," "1 OZ PUR 9999".
File:1-oz-CANADA-2024-Silver-Coin-Lucky-obverse.png|'''Canada, 2019''', 5 Dollars, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, obverse, Elizabeth II, face-right on a semi-circle background, "Elizabeth II, "5 Dollars," "2024;" "SB" for the designer, Susan Blunt.
</gallery>
</gallery>
</center>
</center>
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<!-- File:1-8-oz-CANADA-2024-Silver-Coin-Lunar-Year-of-the-Dragon-reverse.png|'''Canada, 2024'''  1/8 oz.File:1-8-oz-CANADA-2024-Silver-Coin-Lunar-Year-of-the-Dragon-obverse.png|'''Canada, 2024''' 1/8 oz. MAY NOT EXIST!!!! -->
<!-- File:1-8-oz-CANADA-2024-Silver-Coin-Lunar-Year-of-the-Dragon-reverse.png|'''Canada, 2024'''  1/8 oz.File:1-8-oz-CANADA-2024-Silver-Coin-Lunar-Year-of-the-Dragon-obverse.png|'''Canada, 2024''' 1/8 oz. MAY NOT EXIST!!!! -->


File:1-oz-CANADA-2024-Silver-Coin-Lucky-reverse.png|'''Canada, 2024''', 5 Dollars, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, reverse, Chinese Dragon, "Canada," "9999 Fine Silver," "1 OZ PUR 9999".
File:1-kilo-CANADA-Gold-Coin-Lunar-Dragon-reverse.png|'''Canada, 2024''', 2500 Dollars, 1 Oz. of .9999 Gold, Coin, reverse, Chinese Dragon, face-forward holding a pearl on coin left with the Chinese character 'lóng' which means 'dragon', "Canada," "2500 Dollars," initials "AC" for the designer Aries Chung.
 
File:1-oz-CANADA-2024-Silver-Coin-Lucky-obverse.png|'''Canada, 2024''', 5 Dollars, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, obverse, Elizabeth II, face-right on a semi-circle background, "Elizabeth II, "5 Dollars," "2024;" "SB" for the designer, Susan Blunt.
 
File:1-kilo-CANADA-Gold-Coin-Lunar-Dragon-reverse.png|'''Canada, 2024''', 2500 Dollars, 1 Oz. of .9999 Gold, Coin, reverse, Chinese Dragon, face-forward holding a pearl on coin left with the Chinese character 'lóng' which means 'dragon', "Canada," "2500 Dollars," initials "AC" .


File:1-kilo-CANADA-Gold-Coin-Lunar-Dragon-obverse.png|'''Canada, 2024''', 2500 Dollars, 1 kilo of .9999 Gold, Coin, obverse, Elizabeth II, face-right on a semi-circle background, "Elizabeth II, "D.G. Regina (Dei Gratia Regina; Queen by the Grace of God)," "1952 <> 2022," "SB" for the designer, Susan Blunt.
File:1-kilo-CANADA-Gold-Coin-Lunar-Dragon-obverse.png|'''Canada, 2024''', 2500 Dollars, 1 kilo of .9999 Gold, Coin, obverse, Elizabeth II, face-right on a semi-circle background, "Elizabeth II, "D.G. Regina (Dei Gratia Regina; Queen by the Grace of God)," "1952 - 2022," "SB" for the designer, Susan Blunt.


</gallery>
</gallery>
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<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">
<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">


File:1-oz-CHINA-1916-Gold-Coin-Shih-Kai-Flying-Dragon-reverse.jpg|'''China, 1916''', 1 Dollar, 1.1 Oz. of  Gold, Coin, reverse, Inauguration of Hongxian Emperor Yuan Shih Kai (1859-1916), Chinese Flying Dragon in profile, Chinese ideograms above and below, '''Top Right-to-Left''': Empire of China," '''Bottom Right-to-Left''': "The 1st Year of Hongxian." Engraver: Luigi Giorgi. Unknown Mint, China. This is an extremely rare coin and multiple fake copies of it exist.  
File:1-oz-CHINA-1916-Gold-Coin-Shih-Kai-Flying-Dragon-reverse.jpg|'''China, 1916''', 1 Dollar, 1.1 Oz. of  Gold, Coin, reverse, Inauguration of Hongxian Emperor Yuan Shih Kai (1859-1916), Chinese-European Hybrid Dragon in profile, Chinese ideograms above and below, '''Top Right-to-Left''': Empire of China," '''Bottom Right-to-Left''': "The 1st Year of Hongxian." Engraver: Luigi Giorgi. Unknown Mint, China. This is an extremely rare coin and multiple fake copies of it exist.  


File:1-oz-CHINA-1916-Gold-Coin-Shih-Kai-Flying-Dragon-obverse.jpg|'''China, 1916''', 1 Dollar, 1.1 Oz. of  Gold, Coin, obverse, Inauguration of Hongxian Emperor Yuan Shih Kai (1859-1916), Bust of Yuan Shihkai face-forward with military garb including a plumed hat. "L.Giorgi" for the engraver, Luigi Giorgi.  Unknown Mint, China.  
File:1-oz-CHINA-1916-Gold-Coin-Shih-Kai-Flying-Dragon-obverse.jpg|'''China, 1916''', 1 Dollar, 1.1 Oz. of  Gold, Coin, obverse, Inauguration of Hongxian Emperor Yuan Shih Kai (1859-1916), Bust of Yuan Shihkai face-forward with military garb including a plumed hat. "L.Giorgi" for the engraver, Luigi Giorgi.  Unknown Mint, China.  


File:1-oz-CHINA-1916-Silver-Coin-Shih-Kai-Flying-Dragon-reverse.jpg|'''China, 1916''', 1 Dollar, .9 Oz. of  Silver, Coin, reverse, Inauguration of Hongxian Emperor Yuan Shih Kai (1859-1916), Chinese Flying Dragon in profile, Chinese ideograms above and below, '''Top Right-to-Left''': Empire of China," '''Bottom Right-to-Left''': "The 1st Year of Hongxian." Engraver: Luigi Giorgi. Unknown Mint, China. This is an extremely rare coin and multiple fake copies of it exist.  
File:1-oz-CHINA-1916-Silver-Coin-Shih-Kai-Flying-Dragon-reverse.jpg|'''China, 1916''', 1 Dollar, .9 Oz. of  Silver, Coin, reverse, Inauguration of Hongxian Emperor Yuan Shih Kai (1859-1916), Chinese-European Hybrid Dragon in profile, Chinese ideograms above and below, '''Top Right-to-Left''': Empire of China," '''Bottom Right-to-Left''': "The 1st Year of Hongxian." Engraver: Luigi Giorgi. Unknown Mint, China. This is an extremely rare coin and multiple fake copies of it exist.  


File:1-oz-CHINA-1916-Silver-Coin-Shih-Kai-Flying-Dragon-obverse.jpg|'''China, 1916''', 1 Dollar, .9 Oz. of Silver, Coin, obverse, Inauguration of Hongxian Emperor Yuan Shih Kai (1859-1916), Bust of Yuan Shihkai face-forward with military garb including a plumed hat. "L.Giorgi" for the engraver, Luigi Giorgi.  Unknown Mint, China.  
File:1-oz-CHINA-1916-Silver-Coin-Shih-Kai-Flying-Dragon-obverse.jpg|'''China, 1916''', 1 Dollar, .9 Oz. of Silver, Coin, obverse, Inauguration of Hongxian Emperor Yuan Shih Kai (1859-1916), Bust of Yuan Shihkai face-forward with military garb including a plumed hat. "L.Giorgi" for the engraver, Luigi Giorgi.  Unknown Mint, China.  
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File:2-oz-CHINA-1990-Silver-Coin-Dragon-and-Phoenix-obverse.jpg|'''China, 1990''', 2 Oz. 999 Silver, 20 Yuan, The Great Wall of China.
File:2-oz-CHINA-1990-Silver-Coin-Dragon-and-Phoenix-obverse.jpg|'''China, 1990''', 2 Oz. 999 Silver, 20 Yuan, The Great Wall of China.
File:20-oz-CHINA-1990-Gold-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-obverse.jpg|'''China, 1990''', 20 Oz. 999 Gold, 1500 Yuan, Chinese Dragon and Phoenix.
File:20-oz-CHINA-1990-Gold-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-reverse.jpg|'''China, 1990''', 20 Oz. 999 Gold, The Great Wall of China.


</gallery>
</gallery>
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File:1-oz-CHINA-2019-Silver-Coin-Chihli-Dragon-Restrike-reverse.jpg|'''China, 2019''', 1 Yuan, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, reverse, Restrike from 1898, Chinese Dragon face-forward with a flaming pearl at its center, "29th Year of Huang Hsu," 29th Year of Guangxu (Emperor), "Hu Poo" (Board of Revenue); Chihli Province Mint, China.
File:1-oz-CHINA-2019-Silver-Coin-Chihli-Dragon-Restrike-reverse.jpg|'''China, 2019''', 1 Yuan, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, reverse, Restrike from 1898, Chinese Dragon face-forward with a flaming pearl at its center, "29th Year of Huang Hsu," 29th Year of Guangxu (Emperor), "Hu Poo" (Board of Revenue); Chihli Province Mint, China.


File:1-oz-CHINA-2019-Silver-Coin-Chihli-Dragon-Restrike-obverse.jpg|'''China, 2019''', 1 Yuan, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, obverse, Restrike from 1903; '''Top Manchu Right-to-Left''': "Guangxu" (Emperor) "Yuanbao" (original currency); '''Center: Top-to-Bottom Chinese''': Guangxu (Emperor);  '''Center: Right-to-Left Chinese''': "Yuanbao" (original currency)), '''Center Sides Right-to-Left Chinese''': 'Board of Revenue' (minting authority), '''Bottom Right-to-Left Chinese''': 'Worth 1 Mace (Qian).' Chihli Province Mint, China.
File:1-oz-CHINA-2019-Silver-Coin-Chihli-Dragon-Restrike-obverse.jpg|'''China, 2019''', 1 Yuan, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, obverse, Restrike from 1903?; '''Top Manchu Right-to-Left''': "Guangxu" (Emperor) "Yuanbao" (original currency); '''Center: Top-to-Bottom Chinese''': Guangxu (Emperor);  '''Center: Right-to-Left Chinese''': "Yuanbao" (original currency)), '''Center Sides Right-to-Left Chinese''': 'Board of Revenue' (minting authority), '''Bottom Right-to-Left Chinese''': 'Worth 1 Mace (Qian).' Chihli Province Mint, China.


File:1-oz-CHINA-2019-Silver-Coin-Long-Whiskered-Dragon-Restrike-reverse.jpg|'''China, 2019''', 1 Yuan, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, obverse, Restrike from 1903?, Chinese Dragon winding about the central Chinese ideograms with flaming pearl at bottom, '''Top-to-Bottom''': "One Dollar," (English) "One Dollar."
File:1-oz-CHINA-2019-Silver-Coin-Long-Whiskered-Dragon-Restrike-reverse.jpg|'''China, 2019''', 1 Dollar, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, obverse, Restrike from 1903? / 1911?, Chinese Dragon winding about the central Chinese ideograms with flaming pearl at bottom, '''Top-to-Bottom''': "One Dollar," (English) "One Dollar."


File:1-oz-CHINA-2019-Silver-Coin-Long-Whiskered-Dragon-Restrike-obverse.jpg|'''China, 2019''', 1 Yuan, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, obverse, Restrike from 1911; Manchu characters and Chinese ideogramps, with 2 flowers on the sides: '''Top Manchu Right-to-Left''': 'Year 3 of Xuantong' (Emperor); '''Center: Top-to-Bottom Chinese''': Great Qing's (dynasty);  '''Center: Right-to-Left Chinese''': 'silver currency,' '''Bottom Right-to-Left Chinese''': 'Year 3 of Xuantong.' Central Mint in Tientsin.
File:1-oz-CHINA-2019-Silver-Coin-Long-Whiskered-Dragon-Restrike-obverse.jpg|'''China, 2019''', 1 Yuan, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, obverse, Restrike from 1911; Manchu characters and Chinese ideogramps, with 2 flowers on the sides: '''Top Manchu Right-to-Left''': 'Year 3 of Xuantong' (Emperor); '''Center: Top-to-Bottom Chinese''': Great Qing's (dynasty);  '''Center: Right-to-Left Chinese''': 'silver currency,' '''Bottom Right-to-Left Chinese''': 'Year 3 of Xuantong.' Central Mint in Tientsin.
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File:1-oz-CHINA-2020-Silver-Coin-Kwang-Tung-Dragon-Restrike-pu-obverse.jpg|'''China, 2020''', 1 Yuan, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, reverse, Restrike of 1889, Chinese ideograms on inner circle and Manchu characters at center, '''Top-to-Bottom''': "Guangxu" (Emperor), '''Right-to-Left''': 'Yuanbao," (original currency), "Kwang Tung Province," "7 Mace and 2 Candareens" (weight). Originally from the Kwan Tung Province Mint.
File:1-oz-CHINA-2020-Silver-Coin-Kwang-Tung-Dragon-Restrike-pu-obverse.jpg|'''China, 2020''', 1 Yuan, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, reverse, Restrike of 1889, Chinese ideograms on inner circle and Manchu characters at center, '''Top-to-Bottom''': "Guangxu" (Emperor), '''Right-to-Left''': 'Yuanbao," (original currency), "Kwang Tung Province," "7 Mace and 2 Candareens" (weight). Originally from the Kwan Tung Province Mint.


File:1-oz-CHINA-2020-Silver-Coin-Shih-Kai-Flying-Dragon-Restrike-pu-reverse.jpg|'''China, 2020''', 1 Yuan, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, reverse, Restrike of commemorative issue: Inauguration of Hongxian Emperor, an unusual Shih Kai Chinese Flying Dragon in profile, Chinese ideograms above and below, '''Top Right-to-Left''': Empire of China," '''Bottom Right-to-Left''': "The 1st Year of Hongxian." Engraver: Luigi Giorgi.
File:1-oz-CHINA-2020-Silver-Coin-Shih-Kai-Flying-Dragon-Restrike-pu-reverse.jpg|'''China, 2020''', 1 Yuan, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, reverse, Restrike of 1916 Inauguration of Hongxian Emperor, an unusual Shih Kai Chinese-European Hybrid Dragon in profile, Chinese ideograms above and below, '''Top Right-to-Left''': Empire of China," '''Bottom Right-to-Left''': "The 1st Year of Hongxian." Engraver: Luigi Giorgi.


File:1-oz-CHINA-2020-Silver-Coin-Shih-Kai-Flying-Dragon-Restrike-pu-obverse.jpg|'''China, 2020''', 1 Yuan, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, reverse, Restrike of commemorative issue: Inauguration of Hongxian Emperor, Bust of Yuan Shihkai face-forward with military garb including a plumed hat. "L.Giorgi" for the engraver, Luigi Giorgi.  
File:1-oz-CHINA-2020-Silver-Coin-Shih-Kai-Flying-Dragon-Restrike-pu-obverse.jpg|'''China, 2020''', 1 Yuan, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, reverse, Restrike of 1916 Inauguration of Hongxian Emperor, Bust of Yuan Shihkai face-forward with military garb including a plumed hat. "L.Giorgi" for the engraver, Luigi Giorgi.  


File:1-oz-CHINA-2020-Silver-Coin-Twin-Dragon-Restrike-pu-reverse.jpg|'''China, 2020''', 1 Yuan, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, reverse, Restrike of 1904, Two Chinese Dragons approach from either side the flaming pearl at the top; they surround 2 Chinese ideograms and 2 are at their backs one at each side: '''Sides Right-to-Left''': "Hu-Peh Province," '''Center Top-to-Bottom''': "One Tael."
File:1-oz-CHINA-2020-Silver-Coin-Twin-Dragon-Restrike-pu-reverse.jpg|'''China, 2020''', 1 Yuan, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, reverse, Restrike of 1904, Two Chinese Dragons approach from either side the flaming pearl at the top; they surround 2 Chinese ideograms and 2 are at their backs one at each side: '''Sides Right-to-Left''': "Hu-Peh Province," '''Center Top-to-Bottom''': "One Tael."
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<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">
<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">


File:1-oz-CHINA-2022-Silver-Coin-Long-Whiskered-Dragon-High-Relief-reverse.jpg|'''China, 2022''', 1 Yuan, 1 Yuan, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, obverse, High Relief Restrike from 1911, Chinese Dragon winding about the central Chinese ideograms with flaming pearl at bottom, '''Top-to-Bottom''': "One Dollar," (English) "One Dollar."
File:1-oz-CHINA-2022-Silver-Coin-Long-Whiskered-Dragon-High-Relief-reverse.jpg|'''China, 2022''', 1 Yuan, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, obverse, High Relief Restrike from 1911, Chinese Dragon winding about the central Chinese ideograms with flaming pearl at bottom, '''Top-to-Bottom''': "One Dollar," (English) "One Dollar." Note that this is n extra thick but very small diameter coin.


File:1-oz-CHINA-2022-Silver-Coin-Long-Whiskered-Dragon-High-Relief-obverse.jpg|'''China, 2022''', 1 Yuan, File:1-oz-CHINA-2022-Silver-Coin-Long-Whiskered-Dragon-High-Relief-obverse.jpg|'''China, 2022''', 1 Yuan, 1 Yuan, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, obverse, Restrike from 1911; Manchu characters and Chinese ideogramps, with 2 flowers on the sides: '''Top Manchu Right-to-Left''': 'Year 3 of Xuantong' (Emperor); '''Center: Top-to-Bottom Chinese''': Great Qing's (dynasty);  '''Center: Right-to-Left Chinese''': 'silver currency,' '''Bottom Right-to-Left Chinese''': 'Year 3 of Xuantong.' Central Mint in Tientsin.
File:1-oz-CHINA-2022-Silver-Coin-Long-Whiskered-Dragon-High-Relief-obverse.jpg|'''China, 2022''', 1 Yuan, File:1-oz-CHINA-2022-Silver-Coin-Long-Whiskered-Dragon-High-Relief-obverse.jpg|'''China, 2022''', 1 Yuan, 1 Yuan, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, obverse, Restrike from 1911; Manchu characters and Chinese ideogramps, with 2 flowers on the sides: '''Top Manchu Right-to-Left''': 'Year 3 of Xuantong' (Emperor); '''Center: Top-to-Bottom Chinese''': Great Qing's (dynasty);  '''Center: Right-to-Left Chinese''': 'silver currency,' '''Bottom Right-to-Left Chinese''': 'Year 3 of Xuantong.' Central Mint in Tientsin.
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<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">
<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">


File:1-oz-CHINA-2023-Silver-Coin-Kiang-Nan-Dragon-High-Relief-reverse.jpg|'''China, 2023''', 1 Yuan, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, reverse, Restrike from 1898, Chinese Dragon face-forward, clutching a pearl in its mouth, "Kiang Nan Province," "7 Mace and 2 Candareens (26.84 grams or .86 oz)." Kiang Nan Province Mint, China.
File:1-oz-CHINA-2023-Silver-Coin-Kiang-Nan-Dragon-High-Relief-reverse.jpg|'''China, 2023''', 1 Yuan, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, reverse, Restrike from 1898, Chinese Dragon face-forward, clutching a pearl in its mouth, "Kiang Nan Province," "7 Mace and 2 Candareens (26.84 grams or .86 oz)." Kiang Nan Province Mint, China. Note that this coin is extra-thick and of small diameter.


File:1-oz-CHINA-2023-Silver-Coin-Kiang-Nan-Dragon-High-Relief-obverse.jpg|'''China, 2023''', 1 Yuan, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, obverse Restrike from 1898; '''Top Chinese''': 'Made in Kiangnan Province' (indicating the mint); '''Bottom Chinese''': '7 Mace amd 2 Candareens' (weight, see above); '''Center: Top-to-Bottom Chinese and (interior) Manchu''': "Guangxu" (Emperor); '''Right-to-Left Chinese and (interior) Manchu''': "Yuanbao" (original currency)). Kiangnan Province Mint, China.
File:1-oz-CHINA-2023-Silver-Coin-Kiang-Nan-Dragon-High-Relief-obverse.jpg|'''China, 2023''', 1 Yuan, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, obverse Restrike from 1898; '''Top Chinese''': 'Made in Kiangnan Province' (indicating the mint); '''Bottom Chinese''': '7 Mace amd 2 Candareens' (weight, see above); '''Center: Top-to-Bottom Chinese and (interior) Manchu''': "Guangxu" (Emperor); '''Right-to-Left Chinese and (interior) Manchu''': "Yuanbao" (original currency)). Kiangnan Province Mint, China.
</gallery>
</center>
==== 2024 ====
Unknown Manufacturer
<center>
<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">
File:1-oz-USA-Metal-Poker-Weight-Year-of-the-Dragon-obverse.jpg|'''China, 2024''', 1 Oz. Metal Alloy, Poker Weight, Dragon within a wheel of 10 Dragon years: 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024, 2036, 2048; the Chinese character 'lóng' meaning Dragon.
File:1-oz-USA-Metal-Poker-Weight-Year-of-the-Dragon-reverse.jpg|'''China, 2024''', 1 Oz. Metal Alloy, Poker Weight, Dragon within a wheel of Chinese astrological animals. No words are on this side.
</gallery>
</center>
==DJIBOUTI==
Djibouti, formally known as Republique de Djibouti, is a former French colony in Africa and uses the CFA or Central African Franc as its denomination.
===MDM Mint===
MDM, short for Münzhandelsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG German Coin, a member of the Richard Borek Group, was founded in 1893. It is an international mint and an internationally active coin trading company that specializes in precious metal collectibles.
====2024====
<center>
<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">
File:5-oz-Djibouti-2024-Silver-Dragon-Egg-3D-reverse.jpg|'''Djibouti, 2024''',  5 Oz. of .999 Silver, 3-D ultra-high relief Coin Oval, antiqued, 250 Francs CFA. Reverse: A baby Dragon emerging from an egg. Issued in an egg-shaped wooden case with a CoA. Mintage: 488. MDM Mint.
File:5-oz-Djibouti-2024-Silver-Dragon-Egg-3D-obverse.jpg|''Djibouti, 2024''', 5 Oz. of .999 Silver, 3-D Coin Oval, antiqued. 250 Francs CFA, Obverse: An adult Chinese Dragon and the coat of arms of the nation of Djibouti. "Republique de Djibouti," ".999 Ag." ""250 Francs." "5 Oz." "2024." Mintage: 488. MDM Mint.


</gallery>
</gallery>
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According to the Reserve Bank of Fiji, all recent Fiji coins have been minted by the Royal Canadian Mint. The Scottsdale Mint also states on its website that it has produced coinage for the Reserve Bank of Fiji.
According to the Reserve Bank of Fiji, all recent Fiji coins have been minted by the Royal Canadian Mint. The Scottsdale Mint also states on its website that it has produced coinage for the Reserve Bank of Fiji.
=== Art of Coins ===
Art of Coins is a German private mint which specializes in high-relief collector coins for small nations. Their coins are shipped with Certificates of Authenticity signed by the mint-master, encapsulated and boxed.


==== 2022 ====
==== 2022 ====
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<gallery widths="800px" heights="290px" perrow="1" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">
<gallery widths="800px" heights="290px" perrow="1" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">


File:Fractional-Set-FIJI-2024-Silver-Coins-Dragon-reverse.jpg|'''Fiji, 2024''', From left to right from the head of the Chinese Dragon with pearl to its tail: 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, $2.00 coin; 1/2 Oz. of .999 Silver, $1.00; 1/4 Oz. of .999 Silver; $0.50; and 1/10 Oz. of .999 Silver $0.25; reverse, the Dragon is coloured, each coin bearing "2024," with the far right and smallest also featuring a red banner with the Chinese ideogram 'lóng,' meaning 'dragon.'
File:Fractional-Set-FIJI-2024-Silver-Coins-Dragon-reverse.jpg|'''Fiji, 2024''', From left to right from the head of the Chinese Dragon with pearl to its tail: 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, $2.00 coin; 1/2 Oz. of .999 Silver, $1.00; 1/4 Oz. of .999 Silver; $0.50; and 1/10 Oz. of .999 Silver $0.25; reverse, the Dragon is coloured, each coin bearing "2024," with the far right and smallest also featuring a red banner with the Chinese ideogram 'lóng,' meaning 'dragon.' Mint is Art of Coins, 888 pieces each. Issued encapsulated four coins in one box with CoA.


File:Fractional-Set-FIJI-2024-Silver-Coins-Dragon-obverse.jpg|'''Fiji, 2024''', From left to right from the head of the Chinese Dragon with pearl to its tail: 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, $2.00 coin; 1/2 Oz. of .999 Silver, $1.00; 1/4 Oz. of .999 Silver; $0.50; and 1/10 Oz. of .999 Silver $0.25; obverse, the Fiji Coat of Arms above a semi-circle background, the whole is bordered by a Greek Key ring, "Fiji 2024," at the top and ".999 Fine Silver" on the right of every coin; and in sequence by weight of silver and denomination: "1 oz", "Two Dollars;" "1/2 oz," "One Dollar;" 1/4 oz," "Half Dollar;" and "1/10 oz," "Quarter Dollar."
File:Fractional-Set-FIJI-2024-Silver-Coins-Dragon-obverse.jpg|'''Fiji, 2024''', From left to right from the head of the Chinese Dragon with pearl to its tail: 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, $2.00 coin; 1/2 Oz. of .999 Silver, $1.00; 1/4 Oz. of .999 Silver; $0.50; and 1/10 Oz. of .999 Silver $0.25; obverse, the Fiji Coat of Arms above a semi-circle background, the whole is bordered by a Greek Key ring, "Fiji 2024," at the top and ".999 Fine Silver" on the right of every coin; and in sequence by weight of silver and denomination: "1 oz", "Two Dollars;" "1/2 oz," "One Dollar;" 1/4 oz," "Half Dollar;" and "1/10 oz," "Quarter Dollar."
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File:888-g-FIJI-2024-Silver-8-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-obverse.jpg|'''Fiji, 2024''', 5 Dollars, 888 grams of .999 Silver, Eight-Shaped Coin, obverse, Eight Chinese Dragons decorate the unusually-shaped coin with interspersed clouds, "Year of the Dragon," "888g Ag9999," "2024."
File:888-g-FIJI-2024-Silver-8-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-obverse.jpg|'''Fiji, 2024''', 5 Dollars, 888 grams of .999 Silver, Eight-Shaped Coin, obverse, Eight Chinese Dragons decorate the unusually-shaped coin with interspersed clouds, "Year of the Dragon," "888g Ag9999," "2024."


File:888-g-FIJI-2024-Silver-8-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-reverse.jpg|'''Fiji, 2024''', 5 Dollars, 888 grams of .999 Silver, Eight-Shaped Coin, reverse, the Fiji Coat of Arms on a field of stylish clouds, "Fiji," "5 Dollars," "{#}/288."
File:888-g-FIJI-2024-Silver-8-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-reverse.jpg|'''Fiji, 2024''', 5 Dollars, 888 grams of .999 Silver, Eight-Shaped Coin, reverse, the Fiji Coat of Arms on a field of stylish clouds, "Fiji," "5 Dollars," Serially numbered "{#}/288." Mintage: 288.


</gallery>
</gallery>
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== FRANCE ==
== FRANCE ==


=== Unknown Mint ===
France is a nation in Western Europe.
 
=== Monnaie de Paris ===
 
Monnaie de Paris is the world's oldest continuously running mint, founded in 864 CE. It is also the world's 8th oldest company.


==== 2024 ====
==== 2024 ====
''A bit of history goes here''.


<center>
<center>
<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">
<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">


File:1-oz-FRANCE-2024-Composite-10-Euro-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-Proof.obverse.jpg|'''France, 2024''' 10 Euros, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, reverse; In the outer ring: "Annee Du Dragon," ("Year of the Dragon"), "2024," a Chinese dragon passes through the second ring (tiled with engraved lunar animals and vegetation), which is replicated in small size on the obverse around a door, on the body of the dragon is engraved the Chinese character for "dragon" (long); right-hand side of the coin has a square mark indicating the engraver, Joaquin Jimenez.
File:1-oz-FRANCE-2024-Composite-10-Euro-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-Proof.obverse.jpg|'''France, 2024''' 10 Euros, 22.2 grams of .999 Silver, Coin, reverse; In the outer ring: "Annee Du Dragon," ("Year of the Dragon"), "2024," a Chinese dragon passes through the second ring (tiled with engraved lunar animals and vegetation), which is replicated in small size on the obverse around a door, on the body of the dragon is engraved the Chinese character for "dragon" (long); right-hand side of the coin has a square mark indicating the engraver, Joaquin Jimenez.


File:1-oz-FRANCE-2024-Composite-10-Euro-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-Proof.reverse.jpg|'''France, 2024''' 10 Euros, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, obverse; inset to the top right of the coin is a door marked "R F" and barred closed with a Chinese rod lock; this door is inset to the same ring which appears on the reverse of this coin through which the dragon comes; emanating out from the door in a sun-rayed field is a sequence of twelve panes radially terminating in a year marked on its outer edge and featuring numerous variations of the lunar animals which are part of the twelve; "2018-2029," "Calendrier Chinois," "10 Euro."
File:1-oz-FRANCE-2024-Composite-10-Euro-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-Proof.reverse.jpg|'''France, 2024''' 10 Euros, 22.2 grams of .999 Silver, Coin, obverse; inset to the top right of the coin is a door marked "R F" and barred closed with a Chinese rod lock; this door is inset to the same ring which appears on the reverse of this coin through which the dragon comes; emanating out from the door in a sun-rayed field is a sequence of twelve panes radially terminating in a year marked on its outer edge and featuring numerous variations of the lunar animals which are part of the twelve; "2018-2029," "Calendrier Chinois," "10 Euro." Mintage 3000.


</gallery>
</gallery>
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== JAPAN ==
== JAPAN ==
Japan is a nation comprised of several islands off the eastern coast of Asia.


=== Asahi Refining ===
=== Asahi Refining ===
Asahi Refining and the Asahi Mint are wholly owned subsidiaries of the Japan-based Asahi Group Holdings Limited, a brewery and soft drink company. The name Asahi is means Morning or Sunlight. In 2015, Asahi Holdings acquired the historic Johnson Matthey gold and silver refining business which dated back to 1817 in England. As a multinational corporation, Asahi has many operations worldwide, including Asahi Refining in Salt Lake City, Utah. We list Asahi under Japan, due to its ownership, while recognizing that Asahi bullion rounds may be manufactured elsewhere.
==== 2024 ====


<center>
<center>
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File:16-gm-MACAU-2000-Gold-Coin-Dragon-obverse.jpg|'''Macau, 2000''', Golden Dragon with front right leg raised
File:16-gm-MACAU-2000-Gold-Coin-Dragon-obverse.jpg|'''Macau, 2000''', 1000 Patacas, Golden Dragon with front right leg raised
   
   
File:16-gm-MACAU-2000-Gold-Coin-Dragon-reverse.jpg|'''Macau, 2000''', 1000 Patacas, facade of St. Paul's Church
File:16-gm-MACAU-2000-Gold-Coin-Dragon-reverse.jpg|'''Macau, 2000''', 1000 Patacas, facade of St. Paul's Church
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The European Mint is located in the nation of Estonia, It produces coins for small nations and provides custom private minting of gold and silver bullion.  
The European Mint is located in the nation of Estonia, It produces coins for small nations and provides custom private minting of gold and silver bullion.  
==== 2012 ====
<center>
<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">
File:1-oz-NIUE-2012-Silver-Colorized-Oval-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-reverse.jpg|'''Niue, 2012''', 1 Oz. .999 Silver, Oval Colorized Coin, Year of the Dragon.
File:1-oz-NIUE-2012-Silver-Colorized-Oval-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-obverse.jpg|'''Niue, 2012''', 1 Oz. .999 Silver, Oval Colorized Coin, Queen Elizabeth III.
</gallery>
</center>


==== 2022 ====
==== 2022 ====
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File:1-oz-NIUE-2022-Silver-Coin-Welsh-Dragon.reverse.png|'''Niue, 2022,''' 2 Dollars, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, obverse, Queen Elizabeth the II; "Elizabeth II," "Niue Island," "2022," "2 Dollars; "IRB" below the bust, the initials of the artist, Ian Rank Broadley.
File:1-oz-NIUE-2022-Silver-Coin-Welsh-Dragon.reverse.png|'''Niue, 2022,''' 2 Dollars, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, obverse, Queen Elizabeth the II; "Elizabeth II," "Niue Island," "2022," "2 Dollars; "IRB" below the bust, the initials of the artist, Ian Rank Broadley.
</gallery>
</center>
==== 2024 ====
<center>
<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">
File:1-2-oz-NIUE-2024-Gold-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-reverse.jpg|'''Niue, 2024''', 1/2 Oz. Gold Coin, Year of the Dragon.
File:1-2-oz-NIUE-2024-Gold-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-obverse.jpg|'''Niue, 2024''', 1/2 Oz. Gold Coin, King Charles III.
File:1-oz-NIUE-Silver-Gilded-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-Proof-reverse.png|'''Niue, 2024''', 1 Oz. .999 Silver, Coin, Gilded Proof, Year of the Dragon.
File:1-oz-NIUE-Silver-Gilded-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-Proof-obverse.png|'''Niue, 2024''', 1 Oz. .999 Silver, Coin, Gilded Proof, Public Seal of Niue.
File:5-oz-NIUE-2024-Silver-Gilded-Ruthenium-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-reverse.png|'''Niue, 2024''', 5 Oz. .999 Silver coin with, Gilding, and Ruthenium Plating, Year of the Dragon. 10 Dollars.
File:5-oz-NIUE-2024-Silver-Gilded-Ruthenium-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-obverse.png|'''Niue, 2024''', 5 Oz. .999 Silver, Gilded, Ruthenium Coin, King Charles III."10 Dollars."


</gallery>
</gallery>
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== PITCAIRN ISLANDS ==
== PITCAIRN ISLANDS ==


The Pitcairn Islands, officially the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, are a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. Of the four, Henderson Island accounts for 86% of the land area, but only Pitcairn Island is inhabited. It is a British Overseas Territory. As of January 2020, it had only 47 permanent inhabitants, a biracial ethnic group descended mostly from nine men who mutineed on the HMS Bounty in 1789 and their Tahitian consorts.
The Pitcairn Islands, officially the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno Islands, are a British Overseas Territory, comprised of  a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. Of the four, Henderson Island accounts for 86% of the land area, but only Pitcairn Island is inhabited. As of January 2020, Pitcairn Island had only 47 permanent inhabitants, a biracial ethnic group descended mostly from nine men who mutinied on the HMS Bounty in 1789 and their Tahitian consorts.


=== The Tower Mint ===
=== The Tower Mint ===
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<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">
<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">


File:1-oz-Pitcairn-Islands-2024-Dragon-Silver-reverse.jpg|'''Pitcairn Islands, 2024,''' 5 Dollars, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, reverse, a dragon in a coiled posture surrounded by lanterns and cherry blossoms. This was Pitcairn Islands' first Lunar dragon release. Mintage: 10,000. Tower Mint.
File:1-oz-Pitcairn-Islands-2024-Dragon-Silver-reverse.jpg|'''Pitcairn Islands, 2024,''' 5 Dollars, 5 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, reverse, a dragon in a coiled posture surrounded by lanterns and cherry blossoms. "Lunar Year of the Dragon." This was Pitcairn Islands' first Lunar dragon release. Mintage: 10,000. Tower Mint.  
 
File:1-oz-Pitcairn-Islands-2024-Dragon-Silver-obverse.jpg|'''Pitcairn Islands, 2024,''' 1 Dollar, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, obverse, King Charles the III; "Charles III," "Pitcairn Islands," "2024," "5 Dollars."


File:1-oz-Pitcairn-Islands-2024-Dragon-Silver-obverse.jpg|'''Pitcairn Islands, 2024,''' 5 Dollars, 5 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin, obverse, King Charles the III; "Charles III," "Pitcairn Islands," "2024," "5 Dollars." This comes with Box & CoA. [There are several version of this coin: a 100 Dollar version at 1 kilo Silver with Box & CoA, a 5 Dollar Proof version with Box & CoA at 5 oz. Silver, a 1 Dollar version at 1 oz. Silver raw, and a 50 cent version at 1/2 oz. Silver raw.]
</gallery>
</gallery>
</center>
</center>
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Poland is a nation in eastern Europe.  
Poland is a nation in eastern Europe.  


=== Unknown Mint ===
=== Germania Mint ===


The mint that manufactured these coins is not known. Information will be gratefully accepted.  
The Germania Mint produced these bullion pieces in Jelenia Góra, Poland.


==== 2023 ====
==== 2023 ====
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<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">


File:1-oz-POLAND-2023-Silver-Octagonal-Coin-Witchcraft-Seeress-Germania-bu-reverse.png|'''Poland, 2023''', Witchcraft Series. Text Coming Soon
File:1-oz-POLAND-2023-Silver-Octagonal-Coin-Witchcraft-Seeress-Germania-bu-reverse.png|'''Poland, 2023''', 1 oz. .999 Silver. Two Horned Serpents and three horned animal skulls, a triskelion, and 6 Norse runes. Octagonal shape. Germania Mint.


File:1-oz-POLAND-2023-Silver-Octagonal-Coin-Witchcraft-Seeress-Germania-bu-obverse.png|'''Poland, 2023''', Witchcraft Series. Text Coming Soon
File:1-oz-POLAND-2023-Silver-Octagonal-Coin-Witchcraft-Seeress-Germania-bu-obverse.png|'''Poland, 2023''', 1 oz. .999 Silver, "5 Mark", "The Seeress," holds a staff with skulls and antlers, as Ratatosk the Squrrel climbs a tree behind her. Octagonal shape. Germania Mint. Mintage: 20,000. (Despite the denomination of 5 Mark, this is a bullion piece and not legal tender in Poland.)


</gallery>
</gallery>
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=== Unknown Mint ===
=== Unknown Mint ===


The mint that manufactured the 1988 and 2000 Saint Helena dragon coins is not known. Information will be gratefully accepted.  
The mint that manufactured the 1988 and 2000 Singapore Dragon coins is not known. Information will be gratefully accepted.  


==== 1988 ====
==== 1988 ====
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<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">
<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">


File:1-oz-TCHAD-2023-Silver-Horseshoe-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-obverse.jpg|'''Tchad, 2023''', 5000 Francs, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Horseshoe Coin, obverse, Two Chinese Dragons coiled around a horseshoe, the left head-up, the right head-down. No words on this side.
File:1-oz-TCHAD-2023-Silver-Horseshoe-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-obverse.jpg|'''Tchad, 2023''', 5000 Francs, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Horseshoe Coin, obverse, Two Chinese Dragons coiled around a horseshoe, the left head-up, the right head-down. No words on this side. 5000 Francs CFA.


File:1-oz-TCHAD-2023-Silver-Horseshoe-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-reverse.jpg||'''Tchad, 2023''', 5000 Francs, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Horseshoe Coin, reverse, Antiqued, Horseshoe band inset to flat back of Dragons on reverse, with Republic of Tchad Coat of Arms at top right; on the band: "2023 Republique Du Tchad," (Republic of Tchad), "5000 Francs CFA" ("Communauté Financière Africaine" or "African Financial Community")."
File:1-oz-TCHAD-2023-Silver-Horseshoe-Coin-Year-of-the-Dragon-reverse.jpg||'''Tchad, 2023''', 5000 Francs, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Horseshoe Coin, reverse, Antiqued, Horseshoe band inset to flat back of Dragons on reverse, with Republic of Tchad Coat of Arms at top right; on the band: "2023 Republique Du Tchad," (Republic of Tchad), "5000 Francs CFA" ("Communauté Financière Africaine" or "African Financial Community")."
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<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">
<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">


File:1-oz-TOKELAU-2024-Silver-Coin-Dragon-Mirror-bu-reverse.jpg|'''Tokelau, 2024''', Text Coming Soon
File:1-oz-TOKELAU-2024-Silver-Coin-Dragon-Mirror-bu-reverse.jpg|'''Tokelau, 2024''', Mirrored Dragons.


File:1-oz-TOKELAU-2024-Silver-Coin-Dragon-Mirror-bu-obverse.jpg|'''Tokelau, 2024''', Text Coming Soon
File:1-oz-TOKELAU-2024-Silver-Coin-Dragon-Mirror-bu-obverse.jpg|'''Tokelau, 2024''', King Charles III.


</gallery>
</gallery>
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<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">
<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">


File:4-oz-TUVALU-2024-Silver-Circular-4-Coin-Set-Lunar-Quadrant-Dragon-reverse.jpg|'''Tuvalu, 2024''', Text Coming Soon
File:4-oz-TUVALU-2024-Silver-Circular-4-Coin-Set-Lunar-Quadrant-Dragon-reverse.jpg|'''Tuvalu, 2024''', four 1 oz. Silver colourized quarter-circle silver coins that fit together to appear in the form of a Chinese cash coin. Each coin has a different dragon in its own colourway. Sold as a set in a presentation box with a CoA.


File:4-oz-TUVALU-2024-Silver-Circular-4-Coin-Set-Lunar-Quadrant-Dragon-obverse.jpg|'''Tuvalu, 2024''', Text Coming Soon
File:4-oz-TUVALU-2024-Silver-Circular-4-Coin-Set-Lunar-Quadrant-Dragon-obverse.jpg|'''Tuvalu, 2024''', each of the four quarter-circle coins in the set has the same obverse. "2024," "Queen Elizabeth II," "1952-2022" "9999 Ag" "Tuvalu" "1 Dollar,"


</gallery>
</gallery>
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===Royal Mint===
===Royal Mint===


The Royal Mint, founded in 886 CE, is the United Kingdom's official manufacturer of British coins. It is the oldest company in the United Kingdom and has been located in Llantrisant, Wales, since 1968.
The Royal Mint, founded in 886 CE, is the United Kingdom's official manufacturer of British coins. It is the oldest company in the United Kingdom and the 10th oldest company in the world. It has been located in Llantrisant, Wales, since 1968.  


====2000====
====2000====
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<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">
<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">


File:1-oz-ENGLAND-Bronze-Coin-Welsh-Dragon-reverse.jpg|'''England, 2000''', Text Coming Soon
File:1-oz-ENGLAND-Bronze-Coin-Welsh-Dragon-reverse.jpg|'''England, 2000''', The red Dragon of Wales.


File:1-oz-ENGLAND-Bronze-Coin-Welsh-Dragon-obverse.jpg|'''England, 2000''', Text Coming Soon
File:1-oz-ENGLAND-Bronze-Coin-Welsh-Dragon-obverse.jpg|'''England, 2000''', Queen Elizabeth II.


</gallery>
</gallery>
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<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">
<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">


File:1-oz-JMBULLION-2024-Silver-Round-Year-of-the-Dragon.obverse.png|'''United States (JM Bullion), 2024''', 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Silver Round, reverse, circled by a small Chinese Meander, or Greek Key, "Year <i>of the</i> Dragon," Chinese character for Dragon ("Lóng").
File:1-oz-JMBULLION-2024-Silver-Round-Year-of-the-Dragon.obverse.png|'''United States (JM Bullion), 2024''', 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Silver Round, reverse, circled by a small Chinese Meander, or Greek Key, "Year <i>of the</i> Dragon," Chinese character for Dragon ("Lóng"). This Wood Dragon bears a strong resemblance to the Meso-American Plumed Serpent.


File:1-oz-JMBULLION-2024-Silver-Round-Year-of-the-Dragon.reverse.png|'''United States (JM Bullion), 2024''', Silver Round, obverse, circled by a large Chinese Meander, or Greek Key, "Year of the Dragon," "1 oz .999 Fine Silver," centered inside a design reminiscent of the circular character for 'longevity' is the Chinese character for Dragon ("Lóng").
File:1-oz-JMBULLION-2024-Silver-Round-Year-of-the-Dragon.reverse.png|'''United States (JM Bullion), 2024''', Silver Round, obverse, circled by a large Chinese Meander, or Greek Key, "Year of the Dragon," "1 oz .999 Fine Silver," centered inside a design reminiscent of the circular character for 'longevity' is the Chinese character for Dragon ("Lóng").
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=== Mesa Grande Sovereign Nation ===
=== Mesa Grande Sovereign Nation ===


The Mesa Grande Band of Diegueño Mission Indian constitute a United Stated A Federally Recognized Tribal Government. Its citizens are direct descendants of the original aboriginal peoples who occupied northern San Diego County, California, since time immemorial. Their tribal council is located in Santa Ysabel, California,
The Mesa Grande Band of Diegueño Mission Indians constitute a United Stated Federally Recognized Tribal Government. Its citizens are direct descendants of the original aboriginal peoples who occupied northern San Diego County, California, since time immemorial. Their tribal council is located in Santa Ysabel, California. The mint that manufactured the 2024 Mesa Grande Sovereign Nation coins is not known. Information will be gratefully accepted.
 
==== 2024 ====
 
<center>
<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">
 
File:5-oz-MESAGRANDE-2024-Copper-Coin-Uktena-obverse.png|'''USA, 2024''', 5 oz., .999 Copper. A Cherokee warrior confronts an Uktena or Horned Serpent. "One Dollar." Mintage: 1,500.
 
File:5-oz-MESAGRANDE-2024-Copper-Coin-Uktena-reverse.png|'''USA, 2024''', A Sioux tribe warrior holds an eagle on his forearm; in the foreground, a flying eagle. "Mesa Grande Sovereign Nation."
 
</gallery>
</center>


=== Unknown Mint ===


The mint that manufactured the 2024 Mesa Grande Sovereign Nation coins is not known. Information will be gratefully accepted.
=== Macian Enterprises ===


==== 2024 ====
==== 2017 ====


<center>
<center>
<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">
<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">


File:5-oz-MESAGRANDE-2024-Copper-Coin-Uktena-obverse.png|'''USA, 2024''', The Uktena being hunted by a masked warrior. "One Dollar."
File:1-oz-USA-Silver-Round-Destiny-Series-Dragon-obverse.jpg|'''USA, 2020''', 1 Oz. .999 Silver Round, Destiny Series, Dragon.


File:5-oz-MESAGRANDE-2024-Copper-Coin-Uktena-reverse.png|'''USA, 2024''', A male warrior holds an eagle on his forearm; in the foreground, a flying eaagle"Mesa Grande Sovereign Nation."
File:1-oz-USA-Silver-Round-Destiny-Series-Knight-reverse.jpg|'''USA, 2020''', 1 Oz. .999 Silver Round, Destiny Series, Knight.


</gallery>
</gallery>
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<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">
<gallery widths="400px" heights="400px" perrow="2" align="center; cellspacing=8px; cellpadding: 5px 5px 5px 5px;">


File:1-oz-VANUATU-2024-Silver-Coin-Lunar-Year-of-the-Dragon-Pearl.obverse.png|'''Vanuatu, 2024''', 20 Vatu, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Lunar "Year of the Dragon" Coin, reverse, "1 oz. Ag. .999", a forward-facing dragon with .999 gold details and red metalized Pearl.
File:1-oz-VANUATU-2024-Silver-Coin-Lunar-Year-of-the-Dragon-Pearl.obverse.png|'''Vanuatu, 2024''', 20 Vatu, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Lunar "Year of the Dragon" Coin, reverse, "1 oz. Ag. .999", a forward-facing dragon with .999 gold details and a red freshwater Pearl.


File:1-oz-VANUATU-2024-Silver-Coin-Lunar-Year-of-the-Dragon-Pearl.reverse.png|'''Vanuatu, 2024''', 20 Vatu, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Lunar "Year of the Dragon" Coin, obverse, The Vanuatu Coat of Arms and the 12 Lunar Astrological Animals of the Chinese Zodiac.  
File:1-oz-VANUATU-2024-Silver-Coin-Lunar-Year-of-the-Dragon-Pearl.reverse.png|'''Vanuatu, 2024''', 20 Vatu, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Lunar "Year of the Dragon" Coin, obverse, The Vanuatu Coat of Arms and the 12 Lunar Astrological Animals of the Chinese Zodiac.  
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</center>
</center>
<!-- File:{filename.png}|'''{Nation}, YYYY''', {Denomination}, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin/Round/Shape, obv/reverse, {Finish (Antiqued, Proof, etc.)}, {Central Image}, {"Words on Coin" (Translation), "Words on Coin" (Translation), ...}, Artist Initials, Issuing Mint. -->
<!-- File:{filename.png}|'''{Nation}, YYYY''', {Denomination}, 1 Oz. of .999 Silver, Coin/Round/Shape, obv/reverse, {Finish (Antiqued, Proof, etc.)}, {Central Image}, {"Words on Coin" (Translation), "Words on Coin" (Translation), ...}, Artist Initials, Issuing Mint. -->
== References ==
== References ==


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Coin Archives -- https://www.coinarchives.com/
Coin Archives -- https://www.coinarchives.com/
Coin News Net -- https://www.coinnews.net


Dragon Dollar Chinese Coins -- https://www.dragondollar.com/
Dragon Dollar Chinese Coins -- https://www.dragondollar.com/
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<!-- http://www.fortymillioncoins.com -->
<!-- http://www.fortymillioncoins.com -->
And now, my friends, i wish you a Happy Lunar New Year to you -- whenever you are reading this!


==See Also==
==See Also==


* [[:Category:Lucky Coins and Tokens|Lucky Coins and Tokens]]
* [[New Year Fortunes on Good Luck Dice Postcards]]
* [[New Year Fortunes on Good Luck Dice Postcards]]
<!-- [[Patreon Good Luck Tokens]]
<!-- [[Patreon Good Luck Tokens]]
[[Patreon Good Luck Tokens 2]] -->
[[Patreon Good Luck Tokens 2]] -->


<hr>
== To Discuss This Patreon Page ==
 
This Patreon Bonus Page is part of the series titled "Your Wate and Fate." To discuss it with me and the Patreon community, please visit our Private Patreon Forum at


''Special thanks to my dear husband and creative partner nagasiva yronwode for illustrations, scans, and clean-ups.''
'''http://forum.luckymojo.com/your-wate-and-fate-t93995.html'''


<hr>
And now, friends, we wish you a Happy Lunar New Year to you -- whenever you are reading this!


<i><b>catherine yronwode</b><br>curator, historian, and docent
<i><b>nagasiva yronwode</b><br>researcher, graphic designer, and curator
<br><b>catherine yronwode</b><br>curator, historian, and docent
<br><b>Your Wate and Fate</b></i>
<br><b>Your Wate and Fate</b></i>


[[Category:Dice Reading]]
<hr>
 
[[Category:Lucky Coins and Tokens]]
[[Category:Numerology]]
[[Category:Numerology]]
[[Category:Ephemera]]
[[Category:Ephemera]]
[[Category:Astrology]]

Latest revision as of 04:41, 10 June 2024

American-Scale-Company-Your-Wate-and-Fate-Logo.jpg
Lunar New Year Wood Dragons on Silver Coins!
Lucky Dragon Coins from All Around the World!
It's Raining Dragon Money!

In this installment of "Your Wate and Fate," we share a page that was funded by our Patrons for display to the public. Patreon supporters have access to our pages before the public does.

* Dragon Money Part One: Patreon Release Date: January 28th, 2024.
* Dragon Money Part One: Public Release Date: February 7th, 2024.
* Dragon Money Part Two: Patreon Release Date: February 7th, 2024.
* Dragon Money Part Two: Public Release Date: February 7th, 2024.
* Dragon Money Part Two: Patreon Release Date: February 14th, 2024.
* Dragon Money Part Two: Public Release Date: February 14th, 2024.

Please tell your friends that they can subscribe to my Patreon stream for $2.00 per week:

* "It's All Ephemera with Cat Yronwode"

To discuss this and other Your Wate and Fate pages with me, join my private Patreon Forum here:

* Private Patreon Forum for Your Wate and Fate

Support Your Wate and Fate

All of the material you have access to here — the instructive booklets, the nostalgic postcards, the boldly graphic ephemera, and all of the historical information researched and shared from the mind of the woman who is making it all happen — can easily fit into one 8 x 10 foot room in an old Victorian farmhouse, but you would never see it without the investment of the time it takes to produce such a site and the caloric input such a site requires in the form of food for the writer, graphic designer, and database manager, as well as the US currency needed to pay for the computers, software applications, scanners, electricity, and internet connectivity that bring it out of that little room and into the world. So, as you can see, this site is the darling of many, and it is growing at a rapid rate ... but although it is "free," there also is a cost. Your financial support underwrites this cost.

Each new web page or sample pdf is circulated to Patrons as an unpublished galley proof or advance copy. After one year access for Patrons, each web page will be released to the public, while book pages will be available to the public as printed books, and copies will be sent to Patrons who subscribe at the upper two tiers.

Patrons have access to a Private Patreon sub-forum within the Lucky Mojo Forum, and will be accorded special Red Star Avatar badges at the Forum.




A lizard-like Golden Chinese Dragon!
A young Red Dragon or Dragonet of Europe
A multi-colour Chinese Dragon holding its precious pearl
A Nordic Dragon on an Icelandic postage stamp
A colourful Chinese Dragon rampant

Dragon Money
by nagasiva yronwode and catherine yronwode

On this page we reveal a spectacular and detailed collection of Dragon Money, compiled in honour of the Lunar New Year Festival on February 10th, 2024, which is celebrated all around the world as the auspicious Year of the Dragon begins. Dozens of nations have chosen this time to issue lucky silver, gold, and copper coins and bullion displaying images of talismanic Asian dragons to mark an event that only happens every 12 years. We have gathered more than 80 different dragon coins from the past and present for your enjoyment, and added a quick guide to coin collecting for anyone who is new to the hobby and wants to start with Dragon Coins. Our Patrons usually get a one-year exclusive preview of our work documenting the material culture of magic and luck, but this time the whole world has been invited to click the link and share in the lure and lore of precious metal Dragon Money!

If you are new to coin collecting, then for more information, see our page on Lucky Coins and Tokens.

The Dragon

The Dragon is generally described as a mythical beast, a sort of fantasy creature, varying in appearance by region, and imagined out of bits and pieces of snakes, lizards, crocodiles, fishes, bats, sea-horses, lions, and what-have you. Some scholars, however, believe that Dragons were never conceived of as "mythical," but rather that they represent early, pre-scientific encounters that humans had with fossilized dinosaurs.

This theory accounts for the fact that Dragons of various types appear in far-apart areas of the world, and that there are, in a sense, "regional" Dragons in art. The variations in Dragon appearance may reflect an honest attempt by early humans to reconstruct some sort of uniform saurian anatomy from the fragmentary fossils of many species in their own areas -- long-necked, short-necked, gracile, stocky, winged, unwinged, swimming, flying, and terrestrial -- and this, after millennia, has resulted in the variability of Dragons in art.

The European Dragon

The winged Red Dragon of Wales as depicted on the Welsh flag

The European Dragon is a reptile, generally depicted as a heavy-bodies terrestrial beast capable of short bursts of flight by means of long-fingered, webbed wings. European Dragons may have two feet and two wings, but a good many of them have six appendages -- four feet and two wings, making them look like the curator of the paleontology department had a few two many whiskies before he assembled their skeletons.

The European Dragon in Heraldry

Unlike the Asian Dragon, which knows no bounds in terms of posture or position, the European Dragon is often encountered in heraldry, which is an ancient, pre-literate, and highly formalized system for branding and identifying the coat of arms or shield of individuals, or their land holdings, municipalities, provinces, or nations by association with animals, plants, and other devices. Heraldry is so popular in Europe, and especially Great Britain, that its use has been extended in popular culture to the branding of taverns, inns, and commercial businesses of all kinds.

Because heraldry is so formalized in terms of each device's position, colour, and number, European Dragons tend to be shown in profile and they are less expressive than Asian Dragons, but they make up for this in terms of their beloved status as totemic emblems of certain regions and their citizenry.

The Jersey Devil

The Jersey Devil originated in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey in the United States about 250 years ago. It closely resembles the European Dragons of the colonists who first described it, with a substantial body and four feet -- sometimes those of a horse or a goat, but sometimes goat-hooved at the rear and Dragon-clawed at the front. It has a pair of European Dragon wings, and the head of a horse, with long, back-swept goat horns. It is usually shown rearing up on its hind legs, like a horse or a goat.

The American Horned Serpent

An Objibwe Horned Serpent or Manoominikeshiinh

The Horned Serpent is a saurian genus found in the histories and story-telling of many indigenous American tribes. Unlike the actual Horned Viper of Africa, these animals have a pair of elaborate horns -- sometimes Goat-like, sometimes Deer-like -- on their heads. They live in lakes and they are the size of large trees, so it is easy enough to see in them a description of fossilized aquatic dinosaurs. Their images can be found on rock art and in pottery designs throughout the United States, especially among the Southeastern Woodlands and Great Lakes tribes.

To the Muscogee people, Horned Serpents were underwater snakes covered with iridescent, crystalline scales and a large crystal on their foreheads. The Alabama people gave them the name Tcinto Såktco ("Crawfish Snake"). The Iroquois people told tales of a Horned Serpent named Djodi'kwado'. The Chickasaw called them Sishtahollo' ("Holy Snake"). The Sioux called them Unhcegila and described them as dangerous reptilian water monsters which lived in ancient times and were destroyed by the Thunderbirds (possibly Pterosaurs) until all that remained of their kind were small snakes and lizards. The Yuchi people of Tennessee, who were later forced to relocate to Oklahoma, made effigies of Horned Serpents from stuffed deer hides painted blue, with the antlers painted yellow. The Ojibwe and Chippewa tribes told stories of Manoominikeshiinh, the great Horned Serpents who lived in the depths of Lake Superior.

The best-known Native American Horned Serpent is the Cherokee Uktena. The anthropologist James Mooney described it as "a great snake, as large around as a tree trunk, with horns on its head, and a bright blazing crest like a diamond on its forehead, and scales glowing like sparks of fire. It has rings or spots of color along its whole length, and can not be wounded except by shooting in the seventh spot from the head, because under this spot are its heart and its life. The blazing diamond is called Ulun'suti ("Transparent") and he who can win it may become the greatest wonder worker of the tribe."

The Plumed Serpent

A relative of the North American Horned Serpent is the Plumed or Feathered Serpent of Mexico and Guatemala. As the Aztecs and Mayans describe it, this dragon bears feathers on its head and may sport feathered wings. The most famous feathered serpent is Quetzalcoatl, the god of wind and rain. As with other dragons, he seems to be a dinosaur, and this is all the more remarkable because it wasn't until the 21st century that modern paleontologists realized that many dinosaurs were feathered, just like birds, and that birds are, in fact, very small remnant dinosaurs.

The Asian Dragon

A Golden Chinese Dragon

The Asian Dragon, a sinuous, reptilian beast, is revered as a religious, mythical, astronomical, and astrological figure. This Dragon may be associated with water, or may writhe through the sky. It usually has four feet and no wings. It may have whiskers or fish-like barbels on its face, and emit flames from its mouth.

The role of the Asian Dragon, his guardianship of a precious flaming pearl, and his titular rulership of every 12th year of the Chinese zodiac are well known, even to non-Asians. If nothing more, they will encounter the Dragon on Chinese restaurant menus, where he stands out because he shares a spot on the Lunar New Year cycle with eleven other animals, all of whom are identifiable living species, while he is a creature of spiritual origin.

The Asian Dragon in Chinese Astrology

Asian Astrology, popularly known in Europe and America as Chinese Astrology, is a traditional system of determining a person's personality, characteristics, and destiny via a twelve-year cycle of animal signs, known as the Chinese Zodiac.

Each Chinese Zodiac sign begins at the New Moon that opens the Chinese New Year or Spring Festival, which is a variable date between January 21st and February 20th) and for the rest of the year its animal holds the luck of the year. The twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac are, in order: the Rat, the Ox, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Snake, the Horse, the Sheep (sometimes referred to as the Ram or Goat), the Monkey, the Rooster, the Dog, and the Boar (also known as the Pig).


The 12 animals of the Chinese lunar zodiac with their years of rulership and their rotation through the five elements, Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Wood


Each year is named after one of the twelve lucky Chinese Zodiac animals, and, as with other forms of astrology, people born under these signs have certain personality traits.

* Rat: 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020: Resourceful, versatile, kind.
* Ox: 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021: Strong, dependable, determined.
* Tiger: 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022: Brave, confident, competitive.
* Rabbit: 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023: Quiet, elegant, responsible.
* Dragon: 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024: Confident, intelligent, enthusiastic.
* Snake: 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025: Mysterious, intelligent, wise.
* Horse: 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026: Animated, active, energetic.
* Goat: 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027: Calm, gentle, sympathetic.
* Monkey: 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016,2028: Sharp, smart, curious.
* Rooster: 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029: Observant, hardworking, courageous.
* Dog: 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030: Loving, honest, prudent.
* Pig: 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007,2019, 2031: Compassionate, generous, practical.

These twelve animal signs are modified by a yearly cycle of five elements, which are Metal, Water, Wood, Fire, and Earth. The five elements may also be expressed as colours, which are White, Black, Green, Red, and Brown. Each of these five elements takes its turn governing two sequential years, thus a Rooster may be a Metal Rooster, a Water Rooster, and so forth.

Each year also has a Yang (positive or male) or Yin (negative or female) character, and these alternate in polarity year by year.

* Yang Metal or White: Years that end in 0.
* Yin Metal or White: Years that end in 1.
* Yang Water or Black: Years that end in 2.
* Yin Water or Black: Years that end in 3.
* Yang Wood or Green: Years that end in 4.
* Yin Wood or Green: Years that end in 5.
* Yang Fire or Red: Years that end in 6.
* Yin Fire or Red: Years that end in 7.
* Yang Earth or Brown: Years that end in 8.
* Yin Earth or Brown: Years that end in 9.

In practice, the twelve animal signs of the Chinese Zodiac are described in terms of the polarity, the element, and the animal, making for a total of ten possible refinements of the basic animal sign, so if a Chinese astrologer does your chart, your sign may be, for instance, a Yang Water Horse, a Female Wood Ox, a Yin Metal Boar, or a Male Fire Dragon -- each of which has specific personality traits and is inclined to succeed best in certain forms of career, and to marry a person of a harmonizing sign. Thus one may be said to have been born in the year of the Female or Yin Ox or the Male or Yang Dragon.

12 animals x 5 elements x 2 polarities = 120: It takes 120 years before the Chinese zodiac cycle repeats.

There are further divisions and refinements of the lunar calendar, but for our purposes, all we need to know right now is that 2024 is the year of the Male Green Wood Dragon.

The Chinese language is written with ideograms, and although they are as variable as type fonts or handwriting in the Latin alphabet, this alphabetically sorted guide will allow you to read the names of the Chinese zodiac animals as they often appear on coins minted in each animal's year.


Chinese ideograms for the 12 zodiacal animals


It is customary at the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year to wish people "Gong Hei Fat Choy" ("Wish Happiness, Develop Fortune") and because at each year, a new animal of the Chinese Zodiac is celebrated, it is a popular practice to reinforce the wish for prosperity by giving the recipient of the wish a literal coin, minted that year and bearing an image of the current year's animal. 2024 is the year of the Dragon, and so we bring you many Dragon coins, with our best wishes!

Lucky Dragon Coins

The Chinese character "long" or "lung" ("Dragon") as it may appear on a Dragon coin

Coins with images of Dragons on them, popularly referred to as Dragon coins or Dragon money, have an extensive history of production in Asia, without respect as to whether the coins were minted in a Dragon zodiac year. Among these coins are various denominations of the Chinese Yuan, Japanese Yen, and Korean Won.

Of all the twelve lunar coins, the Dragon issues are by far the most popular, due to their historical association with the old Dragon Money of China, Japan, and Korea. Therefore, it seems fitting that although the Rat, not the Dragon, is the first of the lunar zodiac animals, and was issued by Australia in 1986, it was in the auspicious year 2000, the year of the Metal Dragon, that an unexpected multitude of Metal Dragon gifts first burst on the scene and made their way to popular online sales sites. In 2000, it was the fashion to design the Dragons so that their coils formed a cursive representation of the number 2000, and because 2000 was represented by a Metal Dragon, coins seemed like an obvious choice to make, and they sold very well.

With the diaspora of Chinese people leaving the oppressive regime of Communist China, the custom of giving Lunar Festival gifts embellished with the year's zodiac animal has spread around the world, and Chinese zodiac coins are now minted in a number of nations. Once the Dragon coins of 2000 had made a hit with non-Asian collectors, several nations with high Asian populations undertook to issue complete sets of zodiac animals. Some started their cycles with the year of the Earth Rat in 2008, but others joined the happy throng when the year of the Water Dragon came up in 2012. By this time online sales platforms had transformed how goods were sold, and more nations joined in the festive fun, and that again led to whole new cycles of Chinese zodiac coins and lunar astrology keepsakes in the form of stamps for each year's animal. With each 12-year lunar cycle, it seems that more nations have joined the list of those who produce lunar coinage or stamps.

We have now arrived at 2024. More and more Asian people are relocating away from the repressions of Chinese Communism, and bringing their beloved cultural traditions to the West -- and this year the number of nations issuing Dragon coins is astounding. Not only that, as non-circulating bullion coins, they are receiving a number of high-tech beautification, such as colourization, metalization, gilding, and three-dimensional sculptural relief, and are being issued in very limited numbers, to increase their collector value.

Meanwhile, in European nations with their own traditions of Dragons which are not connected to astrology, heraldic Dragon coins may be issued at any time.

Obverse and Reverse

When photographing collectible coins for sale, it seems to be the convention, both by mints and by secondary coin dealers, to consider the special or collectible image -- such as a Dragon -- to be the image on the obverse or front of the coin, even though it is technically the image on the reverse or back of the coin. This is especially the case with nations that have a standard obverse, such as the portrait of a monarch; it is boring to see the same obverse as the lead image on coin after coin, Thus the merchants, mints, and coin dealers wish to present the Dragon first, even though it is on the back of the coin. In other words, the Dragons are usually the first image shown, and thus either larger or placed on the left side of a composite photo. We have retained the proper designation of "reverse" for these dragons, while setting them in the left-hand position in our series for purpose of showcasing them.

Dragon Coins and Bullion by Nation

AUSTRALIA

Australia is a former British colony that is now sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. In 1901 it was established as the Commonwealth of Australia. The Australia Act 1986 provided an independent government for Australia while maintaining the monarch of the United Kingdom as the monarch OF Australia in an independent capacity. Thus all Australian coinage bears an image of the currently reigning monarch.

Of all the nations outside of China, Australia has been the most consistent producer of Dragon money since 2000, and has not limited its output to successive Years of the Dragon. The country began producing the Lunar Series I in 1999, and then becgan over with Lunar Series II coins in 2008, and continued with Lunar Series III coins.

Perth Mint

The Perth Mint, located in the city of Perth, is Australia's official bullion mint and is wholly owned by the Government of Western Australia. Founded in 19001, it is the older of Australia's two mints, the other being the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra, which produces Australian dollar coins for circulation as legal tender. The Perth Mint is known for the extremely high quality and beauty of its bullion coins, minted bars, and cast bars. It also functions as the official mint for a number of small nations that lack their own mints.

2000

2012

in October 2023, the 2012 Year of the Dragon Gold and Silver Bullion Coins were issued in seven different sizes, ranging from 1/20 ounce all the way to 10 kilo. All gold coins bore one design and all silver coins bore another.

Specifications for Australia 2012 Year of the Dragon Silver Bullion Coins

Size 	 Face Value  Maximum Mintage 	
10 Kilo  $300        500 	
1 Kilo   $30 	     unlimited 	
10 Oz. 	 $10 	     unlimited 	
5 Oz. 	 $8 	     unlimited 	Issued in a presentation case with a numbered CoA
2 Oz. 	 $2 	     unlimited 	
1 Oz. 	 $1 	     300,000    9 colourized variations: 5,000 each; full set of 10 variations: 2,500
1/2 Oz.  $.50 	     unlimited 	

Specifications for Australia 2012 Year of the Dragon Gold Bullion Coins

Size 	 Face Value  Maximum Mintage 	
10 Kilo  $30,000     100 	 
1 Kilo 	 $3,000      unlimited 	
10 Oz. 	 $1,000      unlimited 	 
2 Oz.	 $200        unlimited 	
1 Oz. 	 $100 	     30,000 	The 1 oz. High Relief Gold Proof was limited to 388 coins  
1/2 Oz.  $50 	     unlimited 	
1/4 Oz.  $25 	     unlimited 	 
1/10 Oz. $15         unlimited 	 	 
1/20 Oz. $5          unlimited 	 	

2017

2018

2019

2021

2022

2023

2024

BHUTAN

Bhutan, officially known as the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a small Asian nation in the Himalayas, between Tibet in north and India in the south. The capital city is Thimphu. To the people who live there, the name of the country is "Druk Yul" -- "The Land of the Thunder Dragon" and the national emblem of Bhutan consists of a double dorje symbol surrounded by two dragons. In a sense, this means that almost every coin from Bhutan is Dragon Money, because the national emblem appears on the obverse of almost every Bhutanese coin -- but for our purposes here we will only be showing coins with dragons on the reverse as well. The standard unit of coinage is the Ngultrum.

B.H. Mayer’s Kunstprageanstalt

B.H. Mayer’s Kunstprageanstalt, a small, private art-mint in of Karlsfeld, Germany, has produced at least some of the coinage of the Kingdom of Bhutan.

1996

In 1996 Bhutan issued a complete set of all 12 zodiac animals, in stylized form, each labelled "Year of the [Animal], with nine decades of the animal's calendar years imprinted around the image of the animal, and the words "300 Ngultrum." They weighed 31.5 grams or 1.012749 troy ounces, and were made of .9250 pure silver. We will only consider the Dragon coin here.


2000

2024

BURUNDI

The Republic of Burundi is an African nation whose coat of arms is a shield with a lion's head mounted on three point-up African spears. The motto of the nation on a ribbon below reads: "Unité, Travail, Progrès (French: "Unity, Work, Progress").

Unknown Mint

The mint that manufactured these coins is not known. Information will be gratefully accepted.

2024

CAMEROON

Cameroon uses the Central African Franc of the CFA (Communauté Financière Africaine or African Financial Community) as its currency, as do the nations of Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Republic of Tchad, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. Each CFA member country can strike coins bearing its own national symbols, and all of their coins are legal tender in the other members of the CFA bloc.

Scottsdale Mint

The Scottsdale Mint was founded in 2008 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Cameroon has used the Scottsdale Mint to produce some of its coins, as have the Cayman Islands, the Reserve Bank of Fiji, and the Central Bank of Samoa.

2018

CANADA

Canada is a former British colony that became a confederation in 1867 and, after a series of gentle, stepwise governmental changes was recognized as a completely separate nation under the Canada Act 1982. As a monarchy, Canada shares its reigning royal family with 14 other independent countries within the Commonwealth of Nations, all of them former British colonies. All Canadian coinage bears on one side an portrait image of the current living monarch.

Royal Canadian Mint

Canadian coins are minted at the Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa.

2012

2019

2020

2024

CHINA

Chinese dragon coins are legendary. They became popular in the late 19th century and have continued to set the style for international dragon coins to this day. There are many copies of old Chinese dragon coins manufactured at this time, and they are variously considered to be counterfeits, fakes, fantasy coins, commemoratives, and restrikes.

The weight of old Chinese dragon coins (and their copies) is often given in maces and candareens. A candareen is equal to 10 cash and is one tenth of a mace. One troy candareen weighs 374 milligrams or 5.77 grams, so, for example, a coin marked 7 mace and 2 candareens weighs 26.84 grams or .86 troy ounces.

Another weight found on Chinese dragon coins is the tael. At one time the silver tael weighed 40 grams or 1.3 troy ounces; in 1959 it was standardized to 50 grams or 1.61 troy ounces. Sixteen taels are equivalent to a catty, from whence comes the English term caddy -- as in a "tea caddy" or chest of tea -- so back in the day, a catty of tea weighed 604 grams or 20.8 ounces -- about 1.33 pounds.

In addition to weights, Chinese dragon money may be denominated in yuan or dollars. The Yuan is a national unit of coinage, while the dollar is a remnant of the use of U.S. trade dollars as currency in Asia during the 19th century.

Chinese Provincial Mint Names

Despite the mint name that is stated on a contemporary Chinese counterfeit, restrike, fake, or fantasy coin, it is almost certainly just a courtesy name left over from a previous era. Some fakes that bear very old dates, as stated on the coins themselves, are also stated to have been minted in provinces that did not have mints during the stated time period. Enjoy these modern Chinese collector coins for their artistry and consider that if they are made of base metal, their value is in the pleasure of owning them and their authenticity is always a matter of conjecture best handled by experts.

1916

1988

1990

2000

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

Unknown Manufacturer

DJIBOUTI

Djibouti, formally known as Republique de Djibouti, is a former French colony in Africa and uses the CFA or Central African Franc as its denomination.

MDM Mint

MDM, short for Münzhandelsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG German Coin, a member of the Richard Borek Group, was founded in 1893. It is an international mint and an internationally active coin trading company that specializes in precious metal collectibles.

2024

FIJI

Many coins of Fiji bear the nation's Coat of Arms: A shield divided quarterly by the Cross of St. George; in the quadrants sugarcane, a coconut palm, a bunch of bananas, and a flying dove of peace bearing an olive branch , charged with a gold lion holding a cacao pod at the top, supported by twin Fijian warriors, one on each side, one armed with a barbed spear, the other with a pineapple club, topped with a canoe as the crest, at the bottom is the nation's motto: "Rerevaka na kalou ka doka na Tui" ("Fear God and honour the King" [1 Peter 2:17]). This coat of arms was adopted in 1908 by a British Royal Warrant and it has been the coat of arms of Fiji since that year, having been retained after independence in 1970.

Royal Canadian Mint

According to the Reserve Bank of Fiji, all recent Fiji coins have been minted by the Royal Canadian Mint. The Scottsdale Mint also states on its website that it has produced coinage for the Reserve Bank of Fiji.

Art of Coins

Art of Coins is a German private mint which specializes in high-relief collector coins for small nations. Their coins are shipped with Certificates of Authenticity signed by the mint-master, encapsulated and boxed.

2022

2023

2024

FRANCE

France is a nation in Western Europe.

Monnaie de Paris

Monnaie de Paris is the world's oldest continuously running mint, founded in 864 CE. It is also the world's 8th oldest company.

2024

JAPAN

Japan is a nation comprised of several islands off the eastern coast of Asia.

Asahi Refining

Asahi Refining and the Asahi Mint are wholly owned subsidiaries of the Japan-based Asahi Group Holdings Limited, a brewery and soft drink company. The name Asahi is means Morning or Sunlight. In 2015, Asahi Holdings acquired the historic Johnson Matthey gold and silver refining business which dated back to 1817 in England. As a multinational corporation, Asahi has many operations worldwide, including Asahi Refining in Salt Lake City, Utah. We list Asahi under Japan, due to its ownership, while recognizing that Asahi bullion rounds may be manufactured elsewhere.

2024

MACAU

Unknown Mint

2000

MONGOLIA

Bank of Mongolia

The mint that manufactures the Mongolian dragon coins is the Bank of Mongolia.

2024

NIUE

Niue is a self-governing Polynesian island country in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand. It is not a member of the United Nations. Its 1,689 primarily Polynesian inhabitants are citizens of New Zealand, so Charles III is Niue's head of state in his capacity as the King of New Zealand. The name Niue means "Behold the Coconut." The capital city is Alofi.

European Mint

The European Mint is located in the nation of Estonia, It produces coins for small nations and provides custom private minting of gold and silver bullion.

2012

2022

2024

PITCAIRN ISLANDS

The Pitcairn Islands, officially the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno Islands, are a British Overseas Territory, comprised of a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. Of the four, Henderson Island accounts for 86% of the land area, but only Pitcairn Island is inhabited. As of January 2020, Pitcairn Island had only 47 permanent inhabitants, a biracial ethnic group descended mostly from nine men who mutinied on the HMS Bounty in 1789 and their Tahitian consorts.

The Tower Mint

The Tower Mint in London, England, makes the coins for the Pitcairn Islands

2024

POLAND

Poland is a nation in eastern Europe.

Germania Mint

The Germania Mint produced these bullion pieces in Jelenia Góra, Poland.

2023

RWANDA

As of 2001, many coins of the Republic of Rwanda ("Repubulika Y'u Rwanda") bear the National emblem with the motto "Ubumwe-Umurimo-Gukunda Igihugu"" ("Unity, Work, Patriotism"), featuring a stem of Sorghum, a branch of a Coffee tree, and a traditional basket called an Agaseke. It also features 2 typical Rwandan shields, a cogwheel, and the Sun above; the whole is encircled by a square knot.

Unknown Mint

The mint that manufactured the Rwandan dragon coins is not known. Information will be gratefully accepted.

2024

SAMOA

Many coins of the Independent State of Samoa bear the nation's Coat of Arms with the motto "Fa'avae I Le Atua Samoa" (variously translated as "God is the Foundation of Samoa" or "Samoa is founded on God")

Scottsdale Mint

It is not clear which company minted the 2022 Samoan dragon coins, but the Scottsdale Mint states on its own page that it numbers among its clients the Cayman Islands, Cameroon, the Reserve Bank of Fiji, and the Central Bank of Samoa, and it definitely did produce the 2024 Samoa Year of the Dragon coins.

2022

2024

The 2024 Samoa Year of the Dragon silver coin came in three sizes: 2 0z., 1 oz. and 1/2 oz. Their appearance is identical, only the thickness differentiates the first two; the third is smaller in diameter.

ST. HELENA

Saint Helena is one of the three islands comprising Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha, a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean, west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is famous for being the site of Napoleon Bonaparte's second exile, following his final defeat in 1815. The British East India Company governed it 1821 from 1834, but currently its 4,897 inhabitants enjoy full British citizenship under the rulership of the reigning British monarch.

Unknown Mint

The mint that manufactured the 2021 and 2023 Saint Helena dragon coins is not known. Information will be gratefully accepted.

2021

2023

SINGAPORE

Unknown Mint

The mint that manufactured the 1988 and 2000 Singapore Dragon coins is not known. Information will be gratefully accepted.

1988

2000

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland is a nation in central Europe.

PAMP Swisse Mint

PAMP (Produits Artistiques Métaux Précieux) is aprecious metals refining and fabricating company established in 1977 in Ticino, Switzerland.

2012

TCHAD

The Republic of Tchad (also spelled Chad) uses the Central African Franc of the CFA (Communauté Financière Africaine or African Financial Community) as its currency, as do the nations of Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. Each CFA member country can strike coins bearing its own national symbols, and all of their coins are legal tender in the other members of the CFA bloc.

New Century Mint and Others

Tchad has authorized various foreign mints to strike collector coins bearing historical or cultural themes that are not related to the country itself. These coins may be given low mintage numbers -- as low as 50 and as high as 500 to 999 -- in order to increase their rarity. The most popular size is one troy ounce of silver. Mints that have recently produced coins for Tchad include the New Century Mint of Shanghai, China.

2023

2024

TOKELAU

Tokelau ("North Wind"), known previously as the Union Islands, is a dependent territory of New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean. Consisting of three tropical coral atolls: Atafu, Nukunonu, and Fakaofo, it lies north of Samoa and east of Tuvalu, and has a population of 1,500 people.

Unknown Mint

The mint that manufactured the 20222 and 2024 Tokelau dragon coins is not known. Information will be gratefully accepted.

2022

2024

TUVALU

Unknown Mint

2024

UNITED KINGDOM

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, Great Britain, or Britain, is a country comprised of England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and other small islands across its seas.

Royal Mint

The Royal Mint, founded in 886 CE, is the United Kingdom's official manufacturer of British coins. It is the oldest company in the United Kingdom and the 10th oldest company in the world. It has been located in Llantrisant, Wales, since 1968.

2000

2018

2024

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The United States of American, also known as the USA, the United States, and the U.S., is a former British colony that fought for and won its independence in 1776.

Although the United States has issued a series of Lunar New Year postage stamps, it has never issued Chinese Zodiac coins. Private mints in the U.S. have sought to fill that gap.

APMEX

APMEX, The American Precious Metals Exchange, was founded in 2000 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It is a wholesaler and retailer of gold, silver, platinum and palladium coins, bullion, bars, and ingots. It occasionally privately mints or commissions the minting of its own commemorative bullion rounds and bars.

2012

2024

JM Bullion

JM Bullion, founded in 2011 in Dallas, Texas, is a wholesaler and retailer of gold, silver, copper, platinum, and palladium products, including coins, bullion, bars, and ingots. The company occasionally privately mints or commissions the minting of its own commemorative bullion rounds and bars.

2024

Mesa Grande Sovereign Nation

The Mesa Grande Band of Diegueño Mission Indians constitute a United Stated Federally Recognized Tribal Government. Its citizens are direct descendants of the original aboriginal peoples who occupied northern San Diego County, California, since time immemorial. Their tribal council is located in Santa Ysabel, California. The mint that manufactured the 2024 Mesa Grande Sovereign Nation coins is not known. Information will be gratefully accepted.

2024


Macian Enterprises

2017

VANUATU

Many coins of Vanuatu bear the nation's Coat of Arms: A Melanesian warrior, armed with a spear, standing before a mountain; behind him a boar's tusk and two leaves of the namele (coconut palm), on the scroll is the Vanuatu National Motto, "Log God Yuni Stanap" ("With God We Stand" equivalent to "In God We Trust"), surrounded by the words Ripablic Blong Vanuatu ("Republic of Vanuatu").

Unknown Mint

2024

References

All Mints List at EMK -- https://www.emk.com/en-us/mints/all-mints/all-mints/

Coin Archives -- https://www.coinarchives.com/

Coin News Net -- https://www.coinnews.net

Dragon Dollar Chinese Coins -- https://www.dragondollar.com/

Numista -- https://en.numista.com/

Silver Stackers Forum -- https://www.silverstackers.com/forums/index.php

Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801 - 1900. Colin R. Bruce II, Senior Editor. 4th Edition, 2004. Krause Publications, Iola, Wisconsin.

Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901 - 2000. George S. Cuhaj, editor. 37th Edition, 2010. Krause Publications, Iola, Wisconsin.

Standard Catalog of World Coins, 2001 - Date. George S. Cuhaj, editor. 9th Edition, 2014. Krause Publications, Iola, Wisconsin.


See Also

To Discuss This Patreon Page

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http://forum.luckymojo.com/your-wate-and-fate-t93995.html

And now, friends, we wish you a Happy Lunar New Year to you -- whenever you are reading this!

nagasiva yronwode
researcher, graphic designer, and curator
catherine yronwode
curator, historian, and docent
Your Wate and Fate