1 oz First Mint Lunar Silver Round

The 1 oz First Mint Lunar Silver Round

The First Mint Lunar is an annual silver round series featuring animals from the Chinese lunar zodiac, produced by First Mint LLC in Las Vegas, Nevada. The mint is wholly owned by First Majestic Silver Corp, a publicly traded silver mining company (NYSE: AG), which makes this one of very few bullion products with a verifiable mine-to-mint supply chain. The silver is sourced exclusively from First Majestic's mines in Mexico, primarily the San Dimas mine, which has been in operation since 1757. Most mints buy refined silver from third parties; here the producer mines, refines, and strikes its own metal.

First Mint launched in late March 2024 and processed roughly 700,000 oz, about 6% of First Majestic's mined silver output, in its first operational year. Known Lunar releases include the Dragon (2024) and the Snake (2025, Year of the Wood Snake). Each year's round carries the zodiac animal for that year on the obverse, with a common reverse showing the full lunar calendar of all 12 animals and their Chinese characters, tying the series together visually.

As a privately minted round rather than a legal tender coin, it carries no face value or government backing, and prices accordingly: lower premiums than sovereign mint lunar coins, in exchange for less universal dealer recognition. For stackers who like zodiac designs but buy primarily for metal content, that trade usually favours the round, and the traceable sourcing is a differentiator no generic round offers.

First Mint Lunar Round Specifications

Rounds ship in tubes of 20, with quantities under 20 sent in individual coin flips, and the mint offers volume price breaks at 20, 100, and 500 units when bought direct. No specific anti-counterfeiting features are documented, which is typical for private mint rounds; the corporate backing of First Majestic provides supply chain traceability instead, since the silver comes from company-owned mines. Standard checks for any 1 oz silver round apply: weight of 31.1g, correct dimensions, and the magnet slide test, where a rare earth magnet should slide slowly down a tilted silver round.

First Mint Lunar Tax Treatment by Country

• US: The primary market. No federal sales tax; most states exempt bullion, while several still tax it and a few apply purchase thresholds. The round's .999+ fineness meets the IRS requirement (99.9% for silver) for inclusion in a precious metals IRA, and the series is sold as IRA eligible. Long-term capital gains are taxed at the collectibles rate of up to 28%.
• Canada: Silver refined to 99.9% or higher purity is GST/HST exempt, which this round meets. First Majestic is headquartered in Vancouver, though the mint itself operates in Nevada.
• UK: 20% VAT on purchase as a non-legal-tender silver round, and no Capital Gains Tax exemption. UK availability is limited, and UK buyers get better tax outcomes from CGT-exempt legal tender coins such as the 1 oz Silver Britannia.
• Australia and New Zealand: Investment-grade silver at 99.9% purity or higher is GST-free in both countries.
• Hong Kong: No sales tax, no import duty, and no capital gains tax.

First Mint Lunar vs Perth Mint Lunar and Other Zodiac Rounds

The obvious comparison is the Perth Mint's Lunar Series III, the dominant sovereign lunar product. The Perth coins are Australian legal tender in .9999 silver and carry higher premiums, supported by larger collector demand and sovereign mint recognition. The First Mint round gives up legal tender status and the finer purity standard in exchange for a lower premium, which suits buyers treating lunar designs as bullion rather than collectibles. The Royal Mint also runs a lunar coin series, and numerous private mints issue zodiac-themed rounds each year.

Against those other private lunar rounds, First Mint's differentiator is provenance. Few bullion products of any kind can document that their metal came from a specific mine; this series can, down to a mine with over 300 years of continuous history. Whether that matters is a buyer-by-buyer question, but it is a genuine point of difference in a category where most products compete only on price.

Against generic silver rounds like the ubiquitous Buffalo design, the Lunar round behaves like any branded round: slightly higher premium than the cheapest generic, slightly better resale standing than an obscure brand. Silver rounds as a category sit between bars and sovereign coins on cost, typically 5-10% over spot against 15-25% for government coins, and that positioning applies here. First Mint also produces a generic 1 oz round, Las Vegas-themed rounds, and cast silver bars in 5 oz, 10 oz, and 1 kg sizes for buyers who want the same sourcing in plainer formats.