1 oz Perth Mint Lunar Silver Bar

The 1 oz Perth Mint Lunar Silver Bar

This bar applies the Perth Mint's most successful design programme to the silver bar format. The Lunar theme follows the Chinese zodiac through its 12-year cycle of animals, Rat through Pig, with the design changing each year. The Perth Mint was the first major western mint to build a bullion programme around the Chinese lunar calendar, launching its Lunar coin series in 1996 with Asian-Pacific markets in mind, and Dragon years have consistently proven the most popular issues, reflecting the dragon's status in Chinese culture as a symbol of power and good fortune.

As a bar rather than a coin, this product trades legal tender status for cost. Bars are the cheapest silver format per ounce: 1 oz silver bars typically run 8-15% over spot in normal conditions against 15-25% for government 1 oz coins. The Lunar bar therefore suits buyers who want the zodiac design and Perth Mint provenance at bar pricing rather than coin pricing. The mint itself is a government-owned entity of Western Australia, established in 1899 and LBMA-accredited, which puts this bar in the recognised-refiner category that resells better than generic silver.

For buyers deciding within the Lunar range, the 1oz Lunar silver coin is the legal tender alternative with an A$1 face value and, in current Series III issues, micro-laser engraved security features.

Perth Mint Lunar 1 oz Silver Bar Specifications

The bar carries .999 fine silver, the standard purity for silver bars, meaning 99.9% of its weight is pure silver. Unlike the Lunar coins it has no face value and is not legal tender; it is a refinery product backed by the Perth Mint's government ownership and LBMA accreditation rather than the Australian Currency Act. The zodiac cycle that drives the design runs Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig, so each year's bar is a distinct issue, which gives the format mild collector interest on top of its bullion value. As with any branded silver bar, keeping the original packaging intact supports the best buyback treatment at resale.

1 oz Silver Bar Tax Treatment by Country

Silver gets none of the VAT exemptions that investment gold enjoys in the UK and EU, so jurisdiction is the biggest cost variable for this bar.

• Australia: The home market and the simple case: GST-free as investment-grade silver at the 99.9% threshold. CGT applies on disposal with a 50% discount after a 12-month hold.
• UK: 20% VAT on new silver bars, and bars are CGT-liable on sale since only UK legal tender coins are CGT-exempt. The least tax-efficient combination available to UK silver buyers.
• EU: Full local VAT on new silver in most member states (17-27% by country); margin schemes may apply on second-hand stock through some dealers.
• US: No federal sales tax; roughly 35 states exempt bullion. The .999 purity meets the IRS 99.9% threshold for IRA-eligible silver. Long-term gains taxed at the collectibles rate of up to 28%.
• Canada: GST/HST exempt; silver qualifies at 99.9%+ purity.
• New Zealand: GST-exempt for silver at the 99.9% purity threshold.
• Singapore and Hong Kong: Singapore exempts qualifying 99.9%+ silver from GST and has no CGT; Hong Kong has no sales tax and no CGT. Both are strong markets for Lunar-themed products given the zodiac's cultural significance.

Lunar Bar vs Lunar Coin and Other 1 oz Silver

The closest decision is bar versus coin within the same theme. The Lunar silver coin is Australian legal tender, carries the better security package in its current series, and enjoys the stronger collector market, with early-year and Dragon-year coins historically appreciating above spot; the bar undercuts it on purchase price. Buyers treating the zodiac design as decoration on a stacking product should take the bar; buyers who care about the collectable dimension or maximum resale recognition should pay up for the coin.

Against other branded 1 oz silver bars, the comparison is design and provenance. A 1oz PAMP Suisse bar offers Swiss refinery pedigree and sealed assay-card packaging; PAMP even runs its own Lunar Calendar series in red CertiPAMP packaging, the most direct like-for-like rival to this bar. The Perth Mint product answers with government ownership and an annually changing design tied to the original mint of the Lunar bullion concept.

On pure cost per ounce, weight beats brand: the largest premium drop in the silver bar market comes between 1 oz and 10oz bars, typically 4-5 percentage points. The 1 oz Lunar bar is a design-led small purchase, not the cheapest way to accumulate silver.