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Australia Lunar Dragon

2012 Fifty Cent

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The Calendar of the Chinese Zodiac rotates through a twelve year cycle. The Chinese Year of the Dragon is the fifth year and to commemorate this the Royal Australian Mint issued this unusual 14 sided tetradecagon 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 2012 Chinese Year of the Dragon began on the 23rd January but the real Chinese year is 4710. 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 year is fused with the element Metal and will only do so every 60 years. Some famous people born in the year of the dragon were Sigmund Freud, Joan of Arc, Bruce Lee, Florence Nightingale and Russell Crowe (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.

Thereverse was designed by the RAM and shows a beautiful Chinese dragon along with the denomination 50 and the Chinese symbol. The obverse features an Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of HM Queen Elizabeth II along with the legend ELIZABETH II AUSTRALIA 2012. Those born in the year of the dragon are said to be born as monarchs, they are idealists and perfectionist. If a Chinese couple have a child, they will undoubtedly want a dragon child. Their power is thought to be indisputable and this is combined with excessive luck. They can also be intolerant and unrealistic in their expectations. The best match for a dragon would be a rat as they are one of the best matches around but they should never connect with another dragon as the competition would surely begin. It is also said that everyone loves a dragon, always in high demand. The female dragon would have a long list of admirers.