2 oz Golden State Mint Lunar Silver Round

The 2 oz Golden State Mint Lunar Silver Round

The 2 oz Golden State Mint Lunar round brings the Chinese zodiac theme to a weight that most lunar bullion programmes skip. Golden State Mint (GSM) is a US private mint known for affordable silver rounds and bars, and its Lunar series covers all twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. Each year's release features that year's animal, so the 2025 round carries the Year of the Snake and the 2026 round the Year of the Horse.

The series is currently on Lunar Series III, which means GSM has been producing zodiac rounds through at least two full 12-year cycles, making it one of the longer-running private mint lunar programmes. The 2 oz weight sits between the standard 1 oz round and the larger 5 oz version, and it is a size that government mints do not always offer in their lunar ranges. That gives the design a larger canvas while keeping the unit price well below a 5 oz piece.

The case for the GSM round over a government-minted lunar coin is price. As a private mint round it carries no face value and no legal tender status, and silver rounds as a category trade at lower premiums than sovereign coins. Buyers who want the zodiac theme as a stacking vehicle rather than a collectible pay less per ounce here than with the Perth Mint or Royal Mint equivalents.

2 oz GSM Lunar Round Specifications

The round contains 2 troy ounces (62.207 grams) of .999 fine silver with a reeded edge. GSM strikes the Lunar series in three silver weights, all to the same purity standard.

The obverse changes annually with the zodiac animal. The 2025 Year of the Snake design shows a snake periscoping within a bamboo forest, with the Chinese character for Snake embossed to the left and the rim carrying the series name, purity, and the Golden State Mint mark. The reverse is shared across the whole series: the twelve zodiac animals arranged in a circle, each representing a month of the Chinese lunar calendar. There is no dedicated anti-counterfeiting technology on these rounds; the GSM branding, reeded edge, and design detail are the practical identifiers, alongside standard weight and dimension checks.

Tax Treatment of the 2 oz GSM Lunar Round

As a .999 fine silver round, this product is taxed like silver bars rather than legal tender coins. It has no face value, so coin-specific tax advantages never apply.

• United States: The primary market for GSM products. Sales tax depends on the buyer's state; most states exempt investment bullion, and .999 silver rounds qualify in most states with an exemption. Gains are taxed at the IRS collectibles rate of up to 28% for holdings over a year. The .999 purity meets the IRA requirement for silver, and the series is IRA-approved.
• United Kingdom: Silver rounds attract 20% VAT on purchase, and with no legal tender status there is no CGT exemption on sale. UK buyers comparing against CGT-exempt British coins should factor in both taxes.
• Canada: Zero-rated for GST/HST, since the .999 purity clears Canada's 99.9% threshold for silver.
• Australia and New Zealand: GST-free as investment-grade silver, which requires 99.9% purity for silver in both countries.
• EU: Standard local VAT applies, with no margin scheme benefit because rounds are not second-hand coins.

GSM Lunar vs Perth Mint, Royal Mint, and Other Lunar Rounds

The lunar bullion space splits into government coins and private rounds, and the GSM series competes squarely on price within the second group.

The Perth Mint Lunar series is the benchmark: government-minted, legal tender, with higher production values and a much stronger secondary market. It commands significantly higher premiums, and the GSM round is the budget alternative to it. The Royal Mint Lunar (Shengxiao) series is UK legal tender and CGT-exempt for UK taxpayers, again at higher premiums than GSM. The Royal Canadian Mint Lunar coins are Canadian legal tender struck in .9999 silver, with higher premiums but also better resale value.

Within the private mint space, APMEX produces its own branded lunar rounds competing directly with GSM, and Asahi Refining makes lunar rounds that GSM itself sells on its own website, an unusual arrangement worth knowing about so the two product lines are not confused. Where the GSM series stands out is the weight range: the 2 oz and 5 oz sizes are uncommon among private mint lunar products, and not every government lunar range offers them either. A buyer who wants more silver per piece in a zodiac design has fewer alternatives at this weight than at 1 oz.