Settings Subscribe  

NumisTip

Australia Year of the Rabbit

2011 Silver Proof One Dollar

Values

Sales History

Current listings

?

The Chinese Year of the Rabbit is the fourth year in a twelve year cycle of the Chinese calendar and to commemorate this the Royal Australian Mint issued this stunning edition. The Chinese Zodiac is composed of 12 animals arranged in order from the rat through to the pig. The order was established by a race between the animals, thousands of years ago orchestrated by the Jade Emperor of China. Chinese astrology and the Chinese zodiac are commemorated by The Australian Lunar Coin sequence. The 12-year sequence features coin releases marking the Year of the Rat, Year of the Mouse, Year of the Ox, Year of the Tiger, Year of the Rabbit, Year of the Dragon, Year of the Snake, Year of the Horse, Year of the Goat, Year of the Monkey, Year of the Rooster, Year of the Dog and Year of the Pig.

The 2011 Chinese Year of the Rabbit began in February but the real Chinese year is 4709. It is normally the darkest day of the month that the Chinese year will start and Chinese people celebrate up until the brightest day of the month around two weeks later. This particular rabbit year is fused with the element Metal and will only do so every 60 years. Some famous people born in the year of the rabbit are Queen Victoria, Albert Einstein, Michael Jordan, David Beckham, Tiger Woods, Whitney Houston, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt and his wife, Angelina Jolie (Travel China Guide, 2014) . Since 1996, the Royal Australian Mint has been producing commemorative coins celebrating the famous Chinese Calendar with lunar designs. The designs of each animal varies year to year.

This 2011 Year of the Rabbit is the 4th year of the lunar series. The reverse was designed by Vladimir Gottwald and shows the head a rabbit in the centre, surrounded by Chinese decorations. It has the year 2011 and the inscription YEAR OF THE RABBIT. The obverse features an Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of HM Queen Elizabeth II along with the legend ELIZABETH II AUSTRALIA 2011. People born within the Year of the Rabbit are said to be pessimistic, insecure and conservative. Most of them will not like change but they will surround themselves with beautiful and expensive things. Their homes will be neat and tidy with expensive clothes and accessories. In particular, their romantic nature makes them a perfect partner for some. Completely faithful and loving, they are both sentimental and romantic. Their best and worst matches are at each end of the Chinese calendar. The best match being a pig person whereas the worst is a rat person.