2018 Australian Lunar Dog Coin with Lion Privy Mark

The Perth Mint released another bullion product this month, the 2018 Australian Lunar Year of the Dog 1oz Silver Coin which features a miniature lion as a privy mark.

Coins often carry a mintmark to identify where they were made, like a "P" for The Perth Mint. In the early 1990s, the Mint began adding tiny privy mark symbols to some limited-edition coins to increase their numismatic appeal.

"Australian coins featuring a Lion privy mark are popular in Germany, one of the Mint’s key overseas markets, where the animal is a prominent heraldic symbol associated with ancient ruling families from Bavaria," The Perth Mint said.

The Mint’s newest bullion coin is limited to 30,000 pieces. Produced in 99.99% silver, its reverse shows a German shepherd dog and pup lying in grass with Chinese peony flowers in the background. The added lion privy mark appears to the German shepherd’s right. Completing the design are the Chinese character for dog and inscriptions of "Year of the Dog" and the Mint’s traditional "P" mintmark.

The lunar coin’s obverse offers the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Her Majesty with inscriptions of ELIZABETH II, AUSTRALIA, 2018, 1 DOLLAR, 1OZ 9999 Ag, and the artist’s initials.

Perth Mint-provided specifications include:

• Precious Metal Content (troy oz): 1.000
• Fineness: 99.99% purity
• Weight (g): 31.107
• Denomination: 1.00
• Diameter (mm): 45.600
• Standard Thickness (mm): 2.600

The Lunar Year of the Dog coin with lion privy mark is available online at perthmintbullion.com. The coin is also available from the Mint’s authorized distributors LPM (lpm.hk) in Asia and Gainesville Coins (gainesvillecoins.com) in the United States.

Standard versions of this coin without the privy mark and in different sizes are also sold by the Perth Mint and are available from bullion dealers. The 1oz size sold out in November.