The Australian five ounces silver piece (abbreviated as 5 oz and designated with Ag for "silver") is a bullion and commemorative coin format. Uniquely, in Australia there are two mints authorised to strike legal tender: the Royal Australian Mint (which also makes the country's circulating coinage) and the Perth Mint which only makes collector and bullion coins, as well as other bullion products.
Both mints endeavour to create coins with attractive designs, and to introduce new designs and themes often, in order to raise the numismatic value of the coins over the value of previous metal used.
This five-ounce silver coin with a face value of $8 was issued as part of the Perth Mint's Lunar Series III to mark the Chinese Year of the Tiger (1 February 2022 to 21 January 2023).
The Mint says about it: First issued in 1995 and now in its third round, the long-running Australian Lunar Coin Series celebrates the animals of the ancient Chinese lunar zodiac with a sequence of annual designs portraying the mouse, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.
This 2022 coin features the tiger, which is said to bestow determination, courage, confidence and charm on those born under its influence in 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010 and 2022. |