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About the 1 oz Rwanda Lunar Gold Coin
The 1 oz Rwanda Lunar Gold Coin
The 1 oz Rwanda Lunar gold coin is the gold issue of the Lunar Ounce, an annual Rwandan legal tender series based on the Chinese zodiac, launched in 2017 with the Year of the Rooster and scheduled to complete its full 12-year cycle in 2028. The coins are struck in .999 fine gold by B.H. Mayer's Kunstprägeanstalt in Munich, backed by the National Bank of Rwanda, and carry a 100 RWF face value.
The series' calling card is the cracked-ice finish. Each year's zodiac animal is rendered as a mosaic of angular fragments, somewhere between stained glass and shattered ice, blending frosted and mirrored surfaces. No competing lunar programme from Perth, the Royal Mint, the Royal Canadian Mint, or PAMP uses anything comparable, which makes the Rwandan series instantly recognisable on sight.
The other defining trait is scarcity. Mintages across the series are intentionally kept low to protect collector value, and the gold mintages are particularly small, with exact figures not always published. That positions this coin differently from a standard 1 oz gold bullion coin: it is a collector-oriented product where the design and limited run carry part of the price, rather than a mass-market stacking coin. Buyers chasing the lowest cost per ounce of gold have better options; buyers building a zodiac set or wanting the cracked-ice aesthetic in gold are the intended audience.
Rwanda Lunar 1 oz Gold Specifications
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Metal | Gold |
| Purity | .999 fine |
| Weight | 1 troy oz (31.103 g) |
| Face value | 100 RWF (Rwandan Francs) |
| Mintage | Very limited; exact figures not always published |
| Manufacturer | B.H. Mayer Mint, Munich |
| Issuer | National Bank of Rwanda |
The reverse carries the year's zodiac animal in the cracked-ice mosaic treatment, each rendered in a dynamic pose suited to the species, surrounded by the inscriptions "LUNAR OUNCE", "YEAR OF THE [ANIMAL]", the date, and the weight and purity. The obverse is constant across years: the coat of arms of the Republic of Rwanda, a traditional dwelling flanked by two warrior shields, with Kinyarwanda-language inscriptions identifying the National Bank of Rwanda. Those inscriptions, the reeded edge, and the complex mosaic surface all double as authentication features.
The series runs in parallel across three metals: silver (the main bullion product, 40 mm diameter), gold, and platinum, the last with mintages as low as 88 pieces in some years. The animals run Rooster (2017) through Monkey (expected 2028).
Rwanda Lunar Gold Tax Treatment
At .999 fine, the gold Lunar Ounce clears the investment-gold thresholds in all major markets, with the usual caveat that it is not a domestic coin anywhere its buyers live.
- UK: 0% VAT as investment gold. Not on HMRC's CGT-exempt list, so unlike a 1 oz gold Britannia, gains above the £3,000 annual allowance are taxable.
- US: IRA-eligible at .999, comfortably above the IRS 99.5% gold minimum. State sales tax follows standard bullion rules; most states exempt it, with threshold rules in California ($2,000), Florida ($500), New York, Louisiana, and Massachusetts ($1,000). Long-term gains are taxed at up to the 28% collectibles rate.
- EU: Exempt under the EU investment gold rules as a post-1800 legal tender coin above 900 thousandths purity. The series has a strong German-market presence, where capital gains on bullion held over a year are tax-free.
- Canada: 0% GST/HST for gold at 99.5%+ purity in coin form.
- Australia and New Zealand: GST-free as investment-grade gold at 99.5%+ purity. The .999 fineness avoids New Zealand's 22-carat trap, where coins like the Krugerrand attract 15% GST.
- Singapore and Hong Kong: No GST (Singapore IPM scheme) or no sales tax (Hong Kong), and no capital gains tax in either.
Rwanda Lunar vs Perth, Royal Mint, and RCM Lunar Coins
The benchmark is the Perth Mint Lunar programme, now in its third series. Perth has the highest market recognition and liquidity of any lunar coin, much higher mintages, broader availability, and traditional photorealistic engraving. The Rwandan coin concedes all of that liquidity ground and answers with the cracked-ice technique and far tighter mintages; it is the most collector-oriented of the major lunar programmes.
The Royal Mint's Lunar (Shengxiao) series brings one decisive advantage for one audience: as UK legal tender it is CGT-exempt for UK investors, which the Rwanda Lunar cannot match. Its design language is more contemporary and Asian-influenced. The Royal Canadian Mint's zodiac coins sit between the two, with higher mintages and lower premiums than Rwanda. PAMP's lunar products take a different format altogether, bars and rounds rather than legal tender coins, and the Asahi lunar rounds are private-mint pieces with no face value.
Two things genuinely set the Rwandan series apart. First, the surface treatment: no rival lunar programme renders its animals as a mosaic of angular fragments. Second, set completion economics: a 12-year run from 2017 to 2028 makes a complete collection achievable, and the deliberately scarce gold issues are the hardest pieces of such a set. As pure bullion, a Perth Lunar or a standard sovereign coin is the more efficient buy; as a collectible series with a finite arc, the Rwanda Lunar occupies a niche of its own.