Set Description:
Started this set 15 August 2007!
Lunar Coin
The Design
Centuries ago, the Chinese invented a calendar based on the lunar--rather than the solar--cycle. In 1998, Canada inaugurated a remarkable series of coins, designed by Harvey Chan, featuring the animal symbols of Chinese astrology based on the Lunar Calendar. These symbols roughly approximate the signs of the zodiac in western culture, however, donate years instead of months. All 12 of the Lunar animals--the Rat, the Ox, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Snake, the Horse, the Sheep, the Monkey, the Rooster, the Dog and the Pig--apear in a circular arrangement around the rim of each coin, with a different animal highlighted each year in a central cameo. The coin's obverse bears the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by artist Dora de Pedery-Hunt.
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