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The Cat's Mother
The Cat's Mother
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Sun Jan 02, 2022 3:38 pm
Hello, and Happy New Year
I was wondering if anyone could help me with the following:
In 2015 Niue issued what I believe was the first coin in a new series of Lunar coins, the Goat. This was followed in 2016 by the Monkey, then by the Rooster, the Dog and finally the Pig in 2019. The coins were, I believe, produced by the New Zealand Mint and followed a theme of showing three examples of the particular animal on the reverse. Very nice they were too and seemed quite popular. In 2020 this changed: the coin for the Year of the Mouse showed a single quite stylised and quirky mouse and the Year of the Ox in 2021 was in a similar vein. Also very nice. There doesn't seem to have been any overlap between the two designs, and I can't trace a 'threesome' coin for 2014 (which would have been a horse) so it looks like the series began then. There has not been a coin for 2022 which follows either the threesome or the stylised designs, so I don't know what will happen next. If the design had changed after four coins, then it could well have been that the overarching theme for the series was to be three sets of four coins with matching designs, but there were five threesome coins. I am puzzled: why did the threesomes apparently stop?
I would be very happy if someone could give me any information about this series.

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Sun Jan 02, 2022 7:24 pm
I am lost reading this post, however I note you are asking why the 3 coins stopped. 

Ok I am on it.
m&m prospecting
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Thu Jan 06, 2022 10:55 am
Are you looking for the horse round ?

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The Cat's Mother
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Thu Jan 06, 2022 12:41 pm
m&m prospecting wrote:Are you looking for the horse round ?

If there was a horse 'threesome' coin then, yes, I would be interested but I have never seen one. It's that that makes me think the series began in 2015. Nuie has quite an assortment of lunar coins, but it's only the threesome and the "continuation" that I am interested in.

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ShortJohnSilver
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Thu Jan 06, 2022 4:23 pm
Follow this link...

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/index.php?e=niue&r=Lunar&ct=coin&im1=&im2=&tb=y&tc=y&tn=y&tp=y&tt=y&cat=y&ru=&ca=3&no=&v=&i=&b=&d=&u=&a=&dg=&m=&f=&t=&w=&mt=&g=&se=&c=&wi=&sw=

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The Cat's Mother
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Thu Jan 06, 2022 5:21 pm
Thank you @ShortJohnSilver . The catalogue certainly shows the variety of Lunar coins issued by Niue! On the issue at hand, page 3 of the catalogue shows in gold the designs I am interested in, and have collected in silver. Goat, Monkey, Rooster and Dog, (but no Pig) showing the 'threesome' and the Rat and the Ox immediately below the Dog. Page 2 has the silver versions of the Monkey and Pig threesomes and the Rat and Ox in the second design. It looks like the Tiger may be out too, in the second design.
It's looking more and more that the threesomes design was discontinued five coins into the series, for no apparent reason, and the more stylised design took over. Whether that second design will run for a full twelve issues remains to be seen.

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The Cat's Mother
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Fri Jan 07, 2022 9:46 am
Hello Again
I contacted the New Zealand Mint yesterday evening, and asked the question, pretty much as posed in my original post here. The reply was waiting for me this morning, as follows:

"Thank you for your enquiry.
The Lunar coins released so far do not follow a style series, and you will notice a change over the years as new designs were introduced.
We cannot confirm at this stage if this year's coin to follow the 2021 Tiger will be of the same design, also, unfortunately.
New Zealand Mint Customer Service"

I think the answer will be forever a mystery.

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Fri Jan 07, 2022 1:18 pm
The Cat's Mother wrote:Hello Again
I contacted the New Zealand Mint yesterday evening, and asked the question, pretty much as posed in my original post here. The reply was waiting for me this morning, as follows:

"Thank you for your enquiry.
The Lunar coins released so far do not follow a style series, and you will notice a change over the years as new designs were introduced.
We cannot confirm at this stage if this year's coin to follow the 2021 Tiger will be of the same design, also, unfortunately.
New Zealand Mint Customer Service"

I think the answer will be forever a mystery.
WOW great service for those wanting to follow a traditional path. 

I wouldn't run my tiny hobby business like that let alone a huge Mint. 

Eek.
denby
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Sun Jan 09, 2022 3:16 pm
This might help you a bit.

The lunar 12 year cycle starts with the Mouse as the Chinese animal race was won by the Mouse, second was the Ox, third the Tiger etc etc. So all clever Mints would start a new series from the Mouse. So design changes coin dimensions etc will all happen at the mouse. Our Royal Mint started its first lunar series at the Horse and it finished at the Mouse ie 7 coins only in the set, hopeless eh!

Your three animal design Lunars from 2015 onwards probably did start at the wrong time in the cycle.

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The Cat's Mother
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Sun Jan 09, 2022 3:32 pm
Hi @denby . I rather suspect that the first five coins from 2015 are a freestanding set and will never be completed as a 12. The new designs did start with a Mouse (as you say, the traditional starting point) and I think it very likely that it will continue for the full cycle. One difficulty is that Niue has so many different Lunar designs for each animal, and that makes it very hard to keep track.

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The Cat's Mother
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Tue Mar 22, 2022 5:53 pm
Just a bit of an update on the mystery of the Nuie Lunars .....
The stylised Tiger shown in the catalogue the @ShortJohnSilver kindly linked me to has now been released, and I will be getting my sticky paws on one. However, the dealer stocking it (Aurinum) refers to "Series: Lunar Series Niue Islands 2015 - 20XX". This could mean that the new look coins are a continuation of the 'threesomes', but the only way to find out definitively will be to wait until 2027 and see whether a stylised version of the Goat is issued.
I'll keep you updated, whether you want me to or not.

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The Cat's Mother
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Mon Nov 13, 2023 12:52 pm
I did say I'd keep you updated .......
I did get the 'stylised' Tiger, and have just got hold of the 'stylised' Rabbit, for 2023. It was an eBay purchase from World of Coins who described it as the fourth issue in the new lunar series. So, two dealers have different ideas about what the series is/was/will be. I'll have to wait until 2027 when the Goat comes out to find out, and I was sort of hoping that 2026 would be the last as this series isn't easy to get hold of. Very nice though, and I still don't know why the 'triplets' were discontinued, as they were very nice too.

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denby
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Mon Nov 13, 2023 2:09 pm
Mouse, ox, tiger, rabbit is number 4 in all lunar sets.

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The Cat's Mother
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Mon Nov 13, 2023 2:40 pm
denby wrote:Mouse, ox, tiger, rabbit is number 4 in all lunar sets.

That's the classic numbering according to the myth, but Perth Mint started off series 1 with the Rabbit in 1999; Silver Shield started with the Ram in 2015; Bhutan began with the Monkey in 2016, and PAMP and Sunshine Mint both began in 2012 with the Dragon. Perth Mint then overlapped series 2 with series 1 so they issued the Mouse, Ox and Tiger in the same years as the series 1 animals.
It seems to be that the mints start off their series in the years that they decide that lunar issues will sell well.

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denby
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Mon Nov 13, 2023 4:01 pm
Like the Royal Mint which never knows what or why it is doing anything.
Started their lunar series in 2014 with the horse and finished the bullion series with the mouse, a 7 year lunar series out of 12 and stopped in their tracks. From mouse bullion you had to switch to proof coins to get ox, tiger, rabbit etc.
The race was won by the mouse and the last animal home was the pig. Hence the 12 year race positions.
Mints can do as they like but lunar charts are set by 5000 years of folklore.

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The Cat's Mother
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Mon Nov 13, 2023 4:27 pm
I entirely agree @denby . The lunar charts are fixed, it's just that the mints take no heed. The Perth Mint has got things right now though.

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