5 oz APMEX Lunar Silver Bar

The 5 oz APMEX Lunar Silver Bar

The 5 oz APMEX Lunar silver bar is part of a dealer-branded zodiac series produced by APMEX, one of the largest bullion retailers in the United States. Each release in the series depicts an animal from the Chinese zodiac calendar (Shengxiao), a cycle of twelve animals that changes annually. The bars are struck from .999 fine silver and contain five troy ounces, or 155.52 grams, of metal. Branded as APMEXclusive, the series is sold only through APMEX itself rather than through the wider dealer network.

The 5 oz bar has been a fixture of the line across both of its generations. Series 1 ran from approximately 2012, opening with the Year of the Dragon, through 2023, completing one full zodiac cycle. Series 2 launched in 2024, again with the Dragon, carrying completely redesigned artwork and an expanded range of formats. In both series the 5 oz bar sits alongside 1 oz and 10 oz bars plus 1 oz rounds, giving collectors a consistent weight ladder to build on each year.

The practical case for this bar is the combination of a collectible annual design with bar-format pricing. Sovereign-mint Lunar coins from the Perth Mint or the Royal Mint carry legal tender status and the prestige of a government mint, and they price accordingly. The APMEX bar offers the same zodiac theme at the lower premiums typical of private-mint silver bars. APMEX guarantees the weight and purity of all APMEXclusive products, though as a dealer-branded bar it has no government backing and no legal tender status anywhere.

The trade-off is liquidity. Because the series is exclusive to one dealer, recognition and resale demand outside APMEX are more limited than for products from recognised sovereign mints. Buyers weighing this bar against generic 5 oz silver bars are essentially deciding whether the annual zodiac design is worth holding a single-dealer brand.

5 oz APMEX Lunar Bar Specifications

The bar follows the standard specification used across the APMEX Lunar silver range, with the design changing each year to match the current zodiac animal.

Because this is a private bar rather than a government coin, there is no face value, no issuing authority, and no government-backed security feature. Authentication rests on APMEX's guarantee of weight and purity for its APMEXclusive line. The limited-edition treatments in the series, such as tamper-evident packaging and low-mintage proofs, apply to the rounds rather than the bars; the bar is a standard bullion strike.

The design programme is the bar's distinguishing specification. Series 1 covered the full twelve-animal cycle from the 2012 Dragon through the 2023 Rabbit, taking in the Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig, Rat, Ox and Tiger along the way. Series 2 restarted the cycle in 2024 with a redesigned Dragon, followed by the Snake in 2025 and the Horse in 2026. Each animal is depicted in a style inspired by Chinese artistic traditions, so a given year's bar is a one-time design that does not repeat until the zodiac cycle comes back around.

Tax Treatment of the 5 oz APMEX Lunar Bar

As a .999 fine silver bar with no legal tender status, this product is taxed as standard investment silver in most jurisdictions. The headline difference between countries is whether silver attracts sales tax at all.

• United States: there is no federal sales tax; treatment depends on the buyer's state. Roughly 35 states exempt bullion, around 10 tax it, and a handful apply threshold-based exemptions, such as New York and Massachusetts above $1,000 and Florida above $500. On disposal, the IRS taxes long-term bullion gains at the 28% collectibles rate. The .999 purity meets the IRS fineness threshold for silver in a precious metals IRA, but acceptance of dealer-branded products varies by custodian, and most custodians prefer products from recognised mints.
• United Kingdom: new silver carries 20% VAT, and as a bar with no legal tender status this product is also liable to capital gains tax on sale, unlike CGT-exempt UK legal tender coins. The series is not commonly stocked by UK dealers, so a UK buyer would normally be importing from APMEX directly.
• Canada: silver refined to 99.9% purity or better in bar form is GST/HST exempt, which this bar's .999 fineness satisfies.
• Australia and New Zealand: investment-grade silver at 99.9% purity or higher is GST-free in both countries, covering this bar.
• EU: silver attracts the full national VAT rate, ranging from 17% to 27% depending on the member state.
• Hong Kong: no sales tax, no import duty and no capital gains tax apply.

For buyers in VAT jurisdictions, the tax position is identical to any other new silver bar; the zodiac design earns no special treatment.

APMEX Lunar 5 oz Bar vs Sovereign Lunar Coins and Generic Bars

The most direct thematic rivals are the sovereign-mint Lunar programmes. The Perth Mint's Australian Lunar series, which has run through three generations (Lunar I, II and III), is legal tender in Australian dollars, struck in .9999 silver, and includes a 5 oz coin. It is widely regarded as the benchmark for Lunar-themed bullion and carries significantly higher premiums than private-mint products. The Royal Mint's UK Lunar coins are likewise legal tender in .999 silver with sovereign-mint pricing. Against either, the APMEX bar is the budget route to the same zodiac theme: lower cost per ounce, but without legal tender status, government backing, or the international recognition that makes sovereign coins easier to resell.

Against generic 5 oz silver bars from private mints such as Scottsdale, Sunshine Minting or SilverTowne, the comparison flips. Those bars compete purely on price and are stocked across many dealers, whereas the APMEX Lunar is a single-dealer product whose appeal is the annual design and the collector habit of completing the twelve-year cycle. Generic and lesser-known branded bars typically resell at melt value with no brand premium recovered, so the question for a buyer is whether the Lunar design will hold any premium at resale; as a dealer-exclusive, its secondary market runs mainly through private sales rather than the broad dealer network.

Within the series itself, the bar sits between the 1 oz APMEX Lunar bar and the 10 oz APMEX Lunar bar. The general economics of the weight class apply: 5 oz silver bars typically carry premiums in the 6-10% range, lower per ounce than 1 oz bars but slightly higher than 10 oz bars, making the 5 oz a middle step for buyers who want the year's design in a larger format without the outlay of the 10 oz version.