The 1996 One Ounce Gold Year of the Rat Coin is from the very first edition of The Perth Mint's Lunar Coin Series.

These Australian gold bullion coins are beautifully designed and struck to a high quality finish. Each 24 carat gold coin comes in a protective capsule.

The issue limit for these collectable coins was officially 30,000, but the declared mintage from the Perth Mint was only 16,593 coins.

Series I Lunar Coins From The Perth Mint

The Perth Mint's lunar coins are highly sought after by coin collectors and investors. The Chinese Lunar Calendar is based on a 12 year cycle, each year in the cycle is associated with a different animal. The Perth Mint started issuing series of Chinese Lunar Calendar Coins, in gold and silver, in 1996, which was the Year of the Rat. We rarely manage to buy any of the older years from Series I, which tend to be very hard to source.

Year of the Rat

It is said that those born under this lunar zodiac sign are thought to be kind, smart, thoughtful and quick witted. Other years of the rat (or mice) include 1972, 1984, 2008 and 2020.

Obverse

Raphael Maklouf created the third coin portrait of HM The Queen, which appears on the obverse of this coin with the inscription:

ELIZABETH AUSTRALIA·100 DOLLARS·

Reverse

The reverse shows an inquisitive rat. The Chinese character for rat is in the inscription, alongside:

1996 1OZ 9999 GOLD

Key Information

Intrinsic Value	£3,314.69
Product ID	14528
Stock Status	Out of Stock

Product Spec

Metal	Gold
Diameter	39 mm
Weight/Size	1 Ounce
Gold Weight Troy Ounces	1.0000
Fineness/Carat	0.9999 / 24
Issue Limit	30000
Date	1996
Obverse Designer	Raphael Maklouf
Reverse Designer	Perth Mint Engravers
Issuing Monarch	Elizabeth II (1952-2022)
Mint/Brand	Perth Mint
Country	Australia

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1996 Year of the Rat Mint Lunar 1 oz Gold Bullion Coin