2018 Year of the Dog 50cent & $1

[brismike]

Hi All

I ordered the $1 and the 50 cent Chinese Year coins for 2018 from the RAM.

They have a different reverse design on them as they usually all have since they have been issuing both 50 cent and $1 versions since 2012.
This year the Year of the dog is being commemorated on both coins.

The 50 cent is also 14 sided as they always have been since the 50 cent version started in 2012 with Year of the Dragon.

Then out comes the RAM with the 2018 WMF Gold Plated Year of the Dog 50 cent. I have ordered and received one of those.

Lo and behold ... It has the reverse design from the 2018 $1 Year of the Dog coin not the 2018 Year of the Dog 14 sided 50 cent coin,
and it is 12 sided not 14 sided?

This is the second time the RAM have issued a WMF Gold Plated 50 cent coin, 2017 was the first time they did it, and that one was exactly the same as the normal 50 cent Year of the Rooster coin except for the Gold Plating.

Do you think the RAM made a mistake or is this done on purpose?

Cheers Mike

[Mister T]

I might be wrong but I flicked through the latest Mint Issue or whatever it is called and it described one of these 50c pieces as a first - I didn't read why but maybe it the change to 12 sides?

[notcb]

Mike,

Not sure if it was a mistake, but the Currency Determination no 6 2017, states that the WMF gold plated coin will be an S3, E3, O2, R25.

S3, E3  is by definition      Edge S3 Dodecagonal      Edge E3 Plain 

So it was deliberately designed that way.      Just another subtle change to keep us on our toes, as by definition, it is a different 50 cent coin, not just the gold plating!

Cheers

Peter  (notcb)

[notcb]

P. S. I see that the RAM Mint Issue February 2018 calls the coin a tetra-decagon - clearly the publicity department doesn't talk to the production department!

The RAM website has a correction in the News section, dated 12 February.

Cheers

Peter  (notcb)

[brismike]

Thanks Peter .. You are right, seems like the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing at the RAM.

And yes we now do have two completely different 50 cent Chinese lunar Year coins for 2018 and the differences are....

Different reverse designs, WMF issue has same design as the normal $1 Lunar coin (Except for the denomination being on the reverse not the obverse).
Different number of sides - one has 14 the other has 12.
One is Copper Nickel ... the other is same metal but Gold Plated.

Here are some pics to compare... Firstly the round $1 coin



Then the 14 Sided 50 Cent coin with different reverse ....




Finally the WMF Gold Plated 12 sided 50 cent with the same reverse as the $1 except for the denomination....




Cheers Mike

[notcb]

So with the flick of a pen and with a mintage of just 5000, they have created one of the rarest NCLT Business Strike  50 cent coins issued so far.

Only some of the gold and pure silver coins have lower mintages.

Should be interesting to see how many collectors pick up on this.

Cheers

Peter (notcb)

[seedyrom]

The dealers have

[trout]

Low mintage NCLT doesn't usually = high value coins.
Low mintage circulation coins usually = high value coins.

If RAM thought that they could sell more coins they would increase the mintage to accommodate that demand.
They had absolutely NO problem with morality when they minted extra coins from a limited mintage before :dodgy:

[JeffH]

The mint's task is to make money and that is not just by stamping coins.

[Cockatoo Coins]

The WMF coins are done as a partnership between Downies and the WMF organisation. The mint gets a small allocation of them as part of the deal but the remainder are between the other two.  Everyone else pays retail

[runway]

The WMF coins are done as a partnership between Downies and the WMF organisation. The mint gets a small allocation of them as part of the deal but the remainder are between the other two.  Everyone else pays retail

Exactly right :winkextra: