Chinese New Year this year celebrates The Year of the Snake, what does it stand for?

Chinese New Year this year celebrates The Year of the Snake, what does it stand for?

Each year the Royal Australia Mint produce a coin range in celebration of Chinese New Year.

The Chinese zodiac is a 12-year cycle that links each year to an animal sign. The 12 animal signs are Rat (shu ), Ox (niu ), Tiger (hu ), Rabbit (tu ), Dragon (long ), Snake (she ), Horse (ma ), Sheep (yang ), Monkey (hou ), Rooster (ji ), Dog (gou ) and Pig (zhu ). The order of the animal signs is fixed, with the Snake being sixth in the cycle, hence the Year of the Snake (shennian 蛇年) in 2025. Last year, 2024, was the Year of the Dragon (longnian 龍年) and 2026 is the Year of the Horse (manian 馬年). Each year also corresponds to one of the five basic elements (wuxing 五行) in Chinese cosmology, namely Metal (jin ), Wood (mu ), Water (shui ), Fire (huo ) or Earth (tu ), creating a 60-year cycle.

Individuals born in 2025 may be called ‘Wood Snake’ or ‘Fire Snake’ or ‘Wood Fire Snake’. The five elements interact with one another in a cyclical manner; as a result, Wood gives rise to Fire. This interconnectedness results in the Wood Snake exhibiting a notably complex personality, embodying traits of both Wood and Fire.

The Royal Australian Mint is releasing a series of coins to celebrate the Year of the Snake in 2025. These include:  

$100 1oz Gold Proof Coin: This prestigious coin features a detailed design of the wise and serene Snake.

$5 Silver Proof Coin: This coin depicts the Snake amongst auspicious bamboo, a symbol of virtue.

$1 Uncirculated Two-Coin Set: This set features two $1 coins, one with the Snake design and the other with the Lunar calendar wheel.  

50c Uncirculated Carded Coin: This stunning 2025 50c Uncirculated Tetradecagon Coin celebrating the Year of the Snake is the second release in the Royal Australian Mont’s reimagined Tetradecagon Lunar Series.

These coins are available for purchase from the Royal Australian Mint's online shop and authorized distributors of which newsXpress Sunbury is fortunate to be one of.

The Year of the Snake is an auspicious time in the Chinese Zodiac, and these coins are sure to be popular with collectors and those celebrating the Lunar New Year.

Thank you for visiting www.brenita.com.au, a wonderful shop offering collectible coins including from the Royal Australian Mint. We’re based in Sunbury, Victoria, Australia. We can ship your online orders to you.

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