Cheapest Australian Silver Lunar
You are looking at the Australian Silver Lunar, the Perth Mint's annual zodiac series struck in .9999 fine silver since 1999. Each year carries a fresh animal design, and the lineup spans tiny fractionals all the way up to a full kilo. If you want a bullion coin that doubles as a collectible without paying numismatic prices, this is the series most stackers reach for.
What is the cheapest Australian Silver Lunar right now?
The lowest-premium Australian Silver Lunar listing across our tracked dealers appears at the top of the grid above. Premiums are recalculated against live spot every hour.
What is the Australian Silver Lunar?
Australian Silver Lunar. Struck by the Perth Mint in Western Australia, with the first release in 1999 for the Year of the Rabbit. The series rotates through the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac, releasing one new design per calendar year.
Every coin is .9999 fine silver, which is one notch above the .999 standard you see on most generic rounds. The Perth Mint has run the series in three numbered cycles so far. Series I covered 1999 through 2007. Series II ran 2008 through 2019. Series III began in 2020 and is currently active.
Last verified spot: $70.33.
How much do Silver Lunars cost over spot?
Premiums on Lunars run higher than plain bullion. You are paying for sovereign-mint branding, .9999 purity, and the annual design rotation, and dealers price that in.
For the kilo size, today's lowest premium tracks at recent across the dealers we monitor. Smaller sizes carry steeper per-ounce premiums, which is normal for fractionals at any sovereign mint. The 1/2 oz in particular gets expensive on a per-ounce basis because you are paying minting cost on a smaller silver content.
See today's cheapest Silver Lunar KiloWhich Silver Lunar size is the best value?
For pure premium-per-ounce, the kilo wins almost every time. You are amortizing the design and mint markup across 32.15 troy ounces of silver, and our tracking currently sees this size offered by 3 dealers.
The 5 oz sits in a sweet spot for buyers who want a substantial coin without committing to a kilo. We track 2 dealers offering this size. The 2 oz and 1/2 oz are thinner on dealer coverage, with 1 dealer each in our index, so price competition is more limited.
A quick rule of thumb. If you want the lowest cost per ounce, go big. If you want flexibility to sell partial positions later, stay closer to 1 oz or 2 oz. The fractionals are gift-and-novelty territory, not value plays.
Why does the design change every year?
The whole point of the Lunar series is the zodiac rotation. Each year features one of the twelve traditional Chinese zodiac animals, and the Perth Mint commissions new artwork for each release. That gives collectors a reason to come back annually and gives the series a built-in completion arc.
Some years pick up extra demand because of the animal. Dragon years, rabbit years, and tiger years tend to sell faster and develop secondary-market premiums sooner than ox or rat years. If you are stacking with an eye toward eventual resale, the animal matters more than you might think.
Should you buy Silver Lunars or stick with Maple Leafs and Eagles?
It depends on what you want from the stack. If you are buying silver purely as a hedge and care only about cost per ounce, a Silver Maple Leaf or a generic .999 round will almost always undercut a Lunar.
If you want a coin that gives you the same .9999 purity as a Maple Leaf but with annual design variety and stronger numismatic upside on certain years, the Lunar earns its premium. Many stackers run a barbell strategy. Most of the stack sits in cheap generic silver or Maples, with a smaller Lunar position layered on top for design and potential resale lift.
Neither approach is wrong. Just know which one you are doing before you click buy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What purity is the Australian Silver Lunar?
Every coin in the series is .9999 fine silver, which is the same purity standard as the Silver Maple Leaf and one step above the .999 standard used on most generic rounds and bars.
How many series of Silver Lunars are there?
Three so far. Series I ran 1999 to 2007, Series II ran 2008 to 2019, and Series III began in 2020 and is currently active. Each series cycles through all twelve zodiac animals over twelve years.
Why do Silver Lunars cost more than Maple Leafs?
You are paying for the annual design rotation, the Perth Mint's branding, and lower mintages on larger sizes. Maple Leafs are produced in much higher volume with the same design every year, so their premiums run lower.
Which Silver Lunar size has the lowest premium?
The 1 kilo coin almost always carries the lowest per-ounce premium because the minting cost is spread across 32.15 troy ounces. The 1/2 oz fractional carries the highest per-ounce premium for the opposite reason.
Should you buy current-year or back-dated Silver Lunars?
Current-year coins are usually cheapest because they are still in active distribution. Back-dated coins from popular animal years like dragon, tiger, or rabbit can carry meaningful secondary-market premiums, so check year-by-year pricing before assuming older means cheaper.