Scottsdale Lunar Silver

Scottsdale Mint Lunar Zodiac Silver Coins

The Scottsdale Lunar series is an annual silver coin programme following the Chinese 12-year zodiac cycle, struck by Scottsdale Mint in Arizona and issued as legal tender of Samoa. The series launched in 2017 with the Year of the Rooster and will complete its first full cycle in 2028 with the Year of the Monkey.

Each year's coin features the corresponding zodiac animal on the reverse, with the Samoan coat of arms on the obverse. The coins are produced in .999 fine silver across multiple sizes, primarily 1 oz and 2 oz, with proof-like finishes as the standard offering. Limited-edition variants include rhodium-plated, antique finish, colourised, and black rhodium versions, with mintages as low as 888 pieces for the rarest editions. That mintage number is deliberate: 8 is considered the luckiest number in Chinese culture, associated with wealth and prosperity, and 888 represents triple fortune.

The legal tender status from Samoa gives these coins a formal standing that purely private rounds lack. Samoa, a Pacific island nation with a population of roughly 200,000, authorises several private mints to produce legal tender coins, and Scottsdale has become one of the most prolific issuers of Samoan coinage. The face values are denominated in Tala (1, 2, or 5 Tala depending on size), though as with all bullion coins, the metal value vastly exceeds the nominal denomination.

Gold versions are also produced as 1 oz and 1/10 oz coins in .9999 fine gold, along with gold bars in Scottsdale's proprietary Certi-Lock assay packaging. The silver coins remain the core of the series by volume.

Scottsdale Lunar Coin Specifications

Select versions ship in Scottsdale Mint's proprietary Certi-Lock packaging, which assigns each coin a unique set of authenticity credentials verified through a mobile app. The system combines physical tamper-evidence with digital authentication, a step up from the standard capsule packaging used for non-Certi-Lock versions.

The .999 purity (three nines) is worth noting because most of Scottsdale Mint's other silver products use .9999 (four nines). The reason for the lower purity on the Lunar series has not been publicly explained. In practical terms, the difference between .999 and .9999 is negligible for silver content per ounce, but it is a talking point when comparing against competitors.

Zodiac Cycle

Tax and Legal Status of the Scottsdale Lunar

The Scottsdale Lunar coins are legal tender of Samoa, which affects their tax treatment differently from private-mint rounds and bars.

In the United States, the .999 silver purity meets the IRS threshold for precious metals IRA eligibility under Section 408(m), which requires silver to be at least 99.9% fine. The legal tender status from Samoa further supports IRA acceptance, as most custodians accept coins that are legal tender of a recognised nation. State sales tax varies; roughly 35 states exempt bullion, with threshold-based partial exemptions in California ($2,000), Florida ($500), and New York ($1,000), among others.

In the United Kingdom, silver coins that are not British legal tender attract 20% VAT. The Samoan legal tender status does not grant any VAT relief in the UK. These coins are not CGT-exempt, as that exemption applies only to UK legal tender coins such as the Silver Britannia. Pre-owned examples could potentially qualify for the margin scheme through specialist dealers, reducing the effective VAT to the dealer's profit margin only.

In Canada, silver coins at .999 purity or higher are exempt from GST/HST, and the Scottsdale Lunar qualifies. In Australia, investment silver at .999+ purity in coin form is GST-free, so these should qualify as investment-grade. In Singapore, legal tender coins in silver at .999+ purity on the MAS-approved list qualify as Investment Precious Metals and are GST-exempt; whether the Scottsdale Lunar is on the specific approved list should be confirmed with a local dealer.

New Zealand exempts fine silver bullion (99.9%+ pure) from its 15% GST, and these coins meet that threshold. Hong Kong imposes no sales tax or import duty on precious metals.

From Rooster to Horse: The Scottsdale Lunar Series

The series debuted in 2017 with the Year of the Rooster, entering a lunar coin market already populated by established programmes from the Perth Mint, Royal Mint, and Royal Canadian Mint. Scottsdale's approach differed from these competitors by offering multiple finishes per year, each in limited quantities, rather than a single high-mintage bullion coin.

The standard proof-like versions are produced in runs of 8,888 pieces. The rhodium-plated limited editions are capped at just 888 pieces per year, creating genuine scarcity. Antique finish, colourised, and black rhodium variants add further options, each with their own restricted mintage. This multi-variant strategy gives collectors reasons to buy several versions of the same year's design.

The obverse has remained consistent throughout: the Samoan coat of arms featuring a shield with five stars and a coconut palm, surmounted by a cross and flanked by olive branches, with inscriptions noting Samoa, the face value, and the year. The reverse changes annually with each zodiac animal. The 2024 Year of the Dragon coin, for instance, depicts a dragon flying across the coin with the traditional Chinese character, using the full surface of the coin for a dynamic composition.

Scottsdale Mint also extended the Lunar brand to gold bars rather than gold coins, an unusual choice. The gold lunar bars ship in the Certi-Lock assay packaging, combining the annual zodiac theme with the bar format that is more typical of Scottsdale's core product range.

Scottsdale Lunar vs Perth Lunar, Royal Mint, and RCM

The Perth Mint Lunar series is the dominant product in the lunar zodiac coin category. Now in its third series (Series III began in 2020), the Perth Lunar is struck in .9999 fine silver, carries Australian legal tender status, and has the broadest global distribution of any lunar coin. Mintages are substantially higher than the Scottsdale Lunar, which means greater secondary market liquidity. For buyers prioritising resale ease and international recognition, Perth is the default choice.

The Royal Mint's Shengxiao Collection offers lunar zodiac coins in .999 silver as UK legal tender. The British legal tender status grants CGT exemption in the United Kingdom, a meaningful tax advantage that neither the Scottsdale nor the Perth Lunar can match for UK-based buyers. The Royal Mint's size range is more limited, but the tax benefit alone justifies the premium for many UK stackers.

The Royal Canadian Mint produces lunar coins in .9999 fine silver with Canadian legal tender status. The RCM's brand reputation for purity and quality is well established globally. Like Perth, the RCM lunar coins offer higher purity than the Scottsdale Lunar's .999 fine, though the practical difference in silver content is marginal.

The Scottsdale Lunar's competitive advantage lies in scarcity and variety. With standard mintages of 8,888 and limited editions at 888, production runs are a fraction of what Perth or the RCM produce. Buyers who value collectibility and limited availability over pure liquidity may prefer the Scottsdale version. The multiple finish options per year (proof-like, rhodium, antique, colourised) give the series a depth that single-variant programmes lack. The Certi-Lock digital authentication on select versions is also a security feature that competitors in the lunar space have not matched.