Honoring the Year of the Dog according to the Chinese calendar, the Perth Mint has released the next coin under the Lunar Series II coin program – the 2018 ½ oz Year of the Dog Gold Coins.

Every Lunar Series II release features 8 gold variants boasting various gold weights to accommodate a broad range of collectors and investors. The Perth Mint released the first coin in the Lunar Series II in 2008, and the series will feature a total of 12coins – one for every animal in the Chinese Zodiac.

Each of these coins contains ½ troy ounce of 0.9999 pure gold. Moreover, they carry $50 (AUD) face values.

Since these coins are considered legal tender coins in Australia, their obverses bear the Ian Rank-Broadley depiction of the Queen, which is surrounded by the coin’s face value, issuing country, and the weight and purity of the gold.

The annually-changing designs on these coins’ reverses only helps their popularity and demand –as the coin designers outdo themselves year after year. This year a Labrador Retriever dog makes an appearance on this side, accompanied by a Chinese character denoting the word ‘Dog.’ This side celebrates 2018, the Year of the Dog according to the Chinese zodiac.

These 2018 ½ oz Year of the Dog Gold Coins are essential additions to coin collections that feature all the coins from the Lunar Series II coin program. Furthermore, the coins’ 0.9999 pure gold content makes them valuable investment assets as well, making them popular amongst investors who want to diversify their precious metals portfolios.