2012 Silver Proof Dragon and Other Dragon Issues

The milking of the dragon was supposed to end on 3 September 2012 when Year of the Snake Silver Bullion Coins are minted. However, on 31 October 2012, Perth Mint made the last effort to mint High Relief Gold Proof Dragon of 388 mintage whereby 38 are released in Australia at A$2,818.

My Unofficial Typeset that comprises of (from left): Bullion, Gilded, Proof, Coloured Proof

The original mint issued typeset comprised of Bullion, Gilded Bullion, Coloured Bullion and Proof with issue price at A$331.82. The highest price I managed to spot, was sold in ebay for A$1,150 on 22 Oct 2011 - nearly 3.5 times of the issue price.

The silver proof version is normally the most sort after numismatic single coin of the series. The 1 oz Silver Proof coin was issued at A$97.27, hitting a high of US$415 on 5 Oct 2011 - almost 4 times.

In response to market demands for near historical high silver spot price and the popularity of Year of Dragon coins, Perth Mint issued the first ever Proof Coloured Lunar coin at the same price (A$97.27) as the Proof version. Its mintage is, however, double that of the Proof version at 10,000. Hence, it only hit a high of US$236 on 12 Oct 2011 - less than 2.5 times, compared to the non-coloured version.

The gilded dragon has been sold out at its maximum mintage of 50,000. It is a remarkable sell-out as the rest of the gilded coins that were issued since 2008 did not even manage to sell 20,000 pieces. Issued at A$90, it hit a high of US$150.50 on 14 Oct 2011 - about 1.5 times.

Royal Australian Mint Silver Kangaroo Mintage

The mintage of the Royal Australia Mint (RAM) Silver Kangaroo has always been a mystery as RAM does not release its Declared Mintage like Perth Mint does.

There are numbers put up by numismatics enthusiasts as well as dealers. However it is not known where the numbers came from. The numbers put up here are taken from Annual Reports of RAM starting from year 2001.

Total mintage that includes carded, capsuled and cased coins
2001 - 45,562
2002 - 32,376
2003 - 35,230
2004 - 30,601
2005 - 26,146
2006 - 25,535
2007 - 4,000
2008 - 11,645
2009 - 13,923
2010 - 9,266
2011 - 22,126
2012 - 19,853

Detailed breakdown of each type

Year 2001 Carded: 26,959; Capsuled: 10,850; Cased: 7,753
Remarks: 3,156 Carded were accounted in page 60 of 2001/02 Annual Report

Year 2002 Carded: 32,176; Cased: 200
Remarks: 3,040 Carded and 200 Cased were accounted in page 3 of 2002/03 Annual Report Supplement

Year 2003 Carded: 20,680; Capsuled: 2,550; Cased: 12,000
Remarks: 3,378 Carded, 2,050 Capsuled and 1,200 Cased were accounted in page 5 of 2003/04 Annual Report Supplement

Year 2004 Carded: 19,324; Cased: 11,277
Remarks: 1,863 Carded and 350 Cased were accounted in page 5 of 2004/05 Annual Report Supplement

Year 2005 Carded: 16,446; Cased: 9.700
Remarks: 1,690 Carded were accounted in page 87 of 2005/06 Annual Report

Year 2006 Carded: 17,983; Cased: 7.552
Remarks: 308 Carded were accounted in page 85 of 2006/07 Annual Report

Year 2007 Carded: ? Cased: 4,000

Remarks: This is the most mysterious year as there was no carded coins accounted for Year 2007 but there are actually 2 different versions of 2007 carded coins being sold. Royal Australian Mint (RAM) had not wanted to continue on the kangaroos because of low demand. But dealers approached RAM to produce it. RAM's condition was that each dealer has to make a minimum of 500. Hence 4,000 specimen specimen frosted strike was produced in RAM issued velvet and satin lined case in a capsule without any COA.

Year 2008 Carded: 9,945; Capsuled: 1,700
Remarks: 5,402 Carded were accounted in page 85 of 2006/07 Annual Report, 4,543 Carded and 1,700 Capsuled were accounted in page 109 of 2007/08 Annual Report

Year 2009 Carded: 6,320; Capsuled: 7,603
Remarks: 300 Carded were accounted in page 114 of 2009/10 Annual Report

Year 2010 Carded: 8,050; Capsuled: 1,216

Year 2011 Carded: 10,803; Capsuled: 11,323 were accounted in page 107 of 2010/11 Annual Report

Year 2012 Carded: 8,849 Capsuled: 11,004 were accounted in page 108 of 2011/12 Annual Report