2 oz Signs of the Zodiac Silver Round

The 2 oz Signs of the Zodiac Silver Round from Pressburg Mint

The 2 oz Signs of the Zodiac silver round is a privately minted zodiac-themed piece from Pressburg Mint, struck in .999 fine silver and containing two troy ounces (62.207 grams) of metal. Pressburg Mint is a private mint based in Bratislava, Slovakia. The mint takes its name from Pressburg, the historical German name for Bratislava, and positions itself as a revival of the city's minting tradition, which the mint traces back to 1430 when Bratislava produced coins for the Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary.

As a round rather than a coin, this piece carries no face value, no legal tender status, and no government backing. That distinction matters more for tax than for metal content: the silver inside is the same, but rounds sit in a different category from sovereign coins in several jurisdictions, most notably the UK, where rounds carry both VAT and capital gains liability. Rounds generally trade closer to the metal price than government coins, which is the main reason to choose one; the buyer pays for silver rather than for legal tender status.

The 2 oz weight itself is uncommon among rounds. The dominant round weight is 1 oz, and 2 oz is a relatively modern bullion weight with no long-standing tradition behind it. The format was made mainstream in silver by the Royal Mint's Queen's Beasts coins, and its appeal rests largely on the larger canvas it gives a design rather than on cost efficiency, since the per-ounce saving over 1 oz pieces is minimal. Buyers drawn to zodiac themes who want a larger single piece, or who simply want two ounces in one item rather than two, are the natural audience here. Those prioritising resale liquidity should weigh the trade-off: generic and small-mint rounds at non-standard weights have a narrower resale market than recognised 2 oz silver coins from sovereign mints, which dealers buy actively.

2 oz Signs of the Zodiac Round Specifications

The defining structural facts are the weight and the legal status. Two troy ounces is 62.207 grams of .999 fine silver, double the 31.1 grams of a standard 1 oz round. Because this is a round and not a coin, there is no issuing government, no denomination, and no legal tender framework behind it; the piece is valued on its silver content and design alone.

The .999 purity is the standard for silver rounds generally, and it crosses the thresholds that matter in practice: it meets the 99.9% silver purity requirements used for GST exemption in Canada (99.9% threshold), Australia, and New Zealand, and the IRS purity floor for precious metals IRAs in the United States. Storage follows the same conventions as other coin-shaped silver: individual capsules are the norm for 2 oz pieces, which are larger than 1 oz rounds and are not typically sold in tubes as a standard packaging unit. The usual silver handling rules apply, meaning dry storage and anti-tarnish protection where practical.

Tax Treatment of the 2 oz Zodiac Silver Round by Country

Silver rounds receive the same tax treatment as silver bars everywhere; the coin versus non-coin distinction only ever works against rounds, since they cannot benefit from coin-specific exemptions.

• UK: 20% VAT on purchase. Not CGT-exempt, because rounds have no legal tender status; gains are taxed at the individual's CGT rate. Rounds are double-taxed on entry and exit, the same as silver bars.
• US: No federal sales tax, and most states exempt investment bullion. Capital gains on collectibles are taxed at a maximum 28% rate for holdings over one year. At .999 purity this round meets the IRS 99.9% silver threshold for precious metals IRA eligibility under Section 408(m), subject to custodian rules.
• Canada: 0% GST/HST, since the .999 purity clears the 99.9% federal exemption threshold for silver in bar, ingot, coin, or wafer form. Qualifying bullion is also RRSP and TFSA eligible.
• Australia: GST-free as investment-grade silver (99.9% threshold met). CGT applies on disposal, with a 50% discount for individuals holding longer than 12 months.
• New Zealand: GST-exempt at 99.9%+ purity, and New Zealand has no capital gains tax.
• EU: Standard VAT at local rates applies to new silver. The margin schemes available in Germany and the Netherlands cover pre-owned silver, so a new round bought from a dealer carries the full rate.
• Singapore: The GST exemption for investment precious metals covers silver at 99.9%+ purity from accredited refiners, so whether a given round qualifies depends on the refiner behind the blanks.

For UK and EU buyers the practical takeaway is that rounds offer no VAT advantage over coins or bars, so any saving must come from the product markup itself.

2 oz Zodiac Round vs Zodiac Coins and 2 oz Sovereign Silver

The closest thematic alternative is the Tokelau Signs of the Zodiac coin series, a legal tender silver range first released in 2021 that covers all 12 western zodiac signs and carries a $5 NZD face value. The Tokelau coins are .999 fine silver, led by a 1 oz brilliant uncirculated version with the full series also spanning sizes up to 2 oz, 5 oz, and 1 kilo. They are one of the few western zodiac bullion coin ranges priced close to spot. The structural difference from this round is legal tender status: the Tokelau pieces are government-authorised coins of a New Zealand territory, while the Pressburg round is a private-mint product with no face value. Notably, Pressburg Mint itself also strikes legal tender coins of Tokelau, such as its Equilibrium series, so the mint operates on both sides of that divide.

At the 2 oz weight, the dominant silver products are sovereign coins rather than rounds. The Royal Mint's Queen's Beasts series (2016 to 2021, ten designs, .9999 silver) made 2 oz a mainstream silver bullion weight, and the Tudor Beasts series continues the format from 2023. Both are UK legal tender and therefore CGT-exempt for UK buyers, an advantage no round can match. Dealers buy these recognised mint products actively, whereas generic 2 oz rounds have limited resale appeal by comparison.

Against other silver rounds, the main difference is weight. The 1 oz round is the dominant format with the deepest market, including classics like the Buffalo round and branded pieces from Sunshine Minting and Asahi; 2 oz rounds exist but are uncommon. A buyer purely optimising for resale ease would split the same two ounces across two 1 oz rounds from an established mint. The case for the 2 oz zodiac piece is the design theme and the single larger format, not premium efficiency or liquidity.