2 oz Perth Mint Lunar Silver Coin

The 2 oz Perth Mint Lunar Silver Coin

The 2 oz Lunar gives the Perth Mint's annually changing zodiac artwork a much larger canvas than the standard 1 oz coin. At 62.2 grams of fine silver and around 50mm across in its Series I specification, it is a substantial piece, and the extra surface area is the main reason buyers choose it: the zodiac animal designs, which change every year through a 12-year cycle, simply show more detail at this size.

The 2 oz format is a relatively modern bullion weight rather than a traditional standard. The Perth Mint is one of its two major producers, alongside the Royal Mint's Queen's Beasts and Tudor Beasts programmes, and the Lunar series is one of the few places to find it with an annually rotating design. Premiums on 2 oz coins from recognised mints are broadly comparable to 1 oz sovereign coins on a per-ounce basis, sometimes slightly lower, so the step up is about the format rather than meaningful cost savings; buyers optimising purely for cost per ounce tend to look at the 1 kilo Lunar silver coin instead.

As with all Lunar coins, mintages are controlled rather than unlimited, and Dragon years (2000, 2012, 2024) have historically been the most sought after. The coin is Australian legal tender with a $2 AUD face value, a symbolic denomination far below the silver value.

2 oz Lunar Silver Coin Specifications

Silver purity in the Lunar programme has evolved. Series I (silver from 1999) and Series II coins struck from 2008 to 2016 are 99.9% fine; the mint upgraded to 99.99% partway through Series II in 2017, and Series III (2020 to 2031) is four nines throughout. The fine silver content is two full troy ounces either way.

Series III coins carry security features the earlier cycles lacked: a micro-laser engraved letter visible only under magnification, a small P mintmark for Perth within the reverse design, and a radial line background machined to a precision that is hard to counterfeit. Series I and II coins have no advanced security features, so older years are authenticated on weight, dimensions, and strike quality. The 2 oz sits in a silver range that runs from 1/2 oz up to 10 kilos, and the reverse design changes annually while the obverse carries the monarch's portrait.

Tax on the 2 oz Lunar Silver Coin by Country

Silver does not enjoy gold's near-universal tax exemptions, so where you buy matters more.

• Australia: GST-free as investment-grade silver. Australia's threshold for silver is 99.9% purity, which Lunar silver coins meet across all series. CGT applies on disposal, with a 50% discount for individuals holding longer than 12 months.
• United Kingdom: 20% VAT on new silver coins. Not CGT-exempt, since the coin has no sterling face value. Pre-owned coins sold under a dealer's margin scheme can substantially reduce the effective tax.
• United States: No federal sales tax, and most states exempt bullion. The coin meets the IRS 99.9% silver fineness floor for self-directed IRAs. Long-term gains outside an IRA are taxed at the collectibles rate of up to 28%.
• Canada: GST/HST-exempt, as silver refined to at least 99.9% purity in coin form qualifies federally.
• New Zealand: GST-exempt, meeting the 99.9% silver threshold.
• Singapore: Qualifies for the Investment Precious Metals GST exemption (silver at 99.9% or better), and Singapore levies no capital gains tax.
• European Union: Silver coins attract full local VAT in most member states, with margin scheme treatment available on pre-owned coins in markets like Germany.

The Lunar Silver Series Across Three Cycles

The Perth Mint launched its Lunar programme in gold in 1996, the first major mint to build a bullion series around the Chinese zodiac, and added silver coins from 1999 within Series I. The 2 oz silver denomination dates from that first cycle, sitting between the 1 oz and 5 oz sizes in a range that eventually stretched to 10 kilos. The programme was conceived for Asian-Pacific markets, particularly China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia, where the lunar calendar carries real cultural weight.

Each series runs a complete 12-year cycle: Series I from 1996 to 2007, Series II from 2008 to 2019, and Series III from 2020 to 2031, cycling through Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. Design language has evolved with each cycle: Series I used simpler traditional compositions with a dotted border and Chinese characters, Series II introduced more complex scenes including multi-animal designs in some years, and Series III pairs the most intricate artwork yet with modern security features.

Silver purity tells its own story: three nines until 2016, upgraded to four nines from 2017, making late Series II coins technically superior to earlier coins from the same cycle. The obverse has carried Queen Elizabeth II in portraits by Raphael Maklouf, Ian Rank-Broadley, and Jody Clark, with King Charles III appearing from 2024. Early Series I years remain the scarcest coins in the programme.

2 oz Lunar vs Tudor Beasts and the Lunar Alternatives

At the 2 oz silver weight, the main rivals come from the Royal Mint. The Queen's Beasts series (2016 to 2021) made 2 oz a mainstream silver bullion format and its successor, the Tudor Beasts, continues it today. Both are 99.99% silver like the current Lunar, and both rotate designs across their series. The decisive difference for UK buyers is tax: Royal Mint 2 oz coins are UK legal tender and CGT-exempt, while the Lunar is not. Outside the UK that advantage disappears, and the Lunar's zodiac theme and longer-running programme carry more weight, particularly in Asian-Pacific markets where the Perth Mint designed the series to sell.

Within the Lunar range itself, the choice is mostly about size economics. The 1 oz Lunar silver coin is the most popular denomination and the easiest to resell, while the 1 kilo coin buys the same annual design at a lower premium per ounce. The 2 oz sits between them: more design detail than the 1 oz, easier to liquidate piece by piece than the kilo.

Against the Perth Mint's own 2 oz Silver Koala, the comparison is between two annually changing Australian designs; the Koala's 2 oz size was dropped from annual production after 2018, leaving the Lunar as the mint's active 2 oz silver series.