Noticed this auction : http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2010-Silver-Tiger-Enameled-Coin-New-Zealand-Mint-Limit-/110704502232 Does NZ release something similar for Dragon or other animals? The Tiger looks great in this coin.
There is a Fiji gilded (with pearl) Dragon >> http://www.powercoin.it/lang-en/oce...lunar-year-1-oz-silver-coin-10-fiji-2012.html , though I'm not sure if NZ Mint did this one, as I've not seen it on their website.. edit.. It appears that all the NZ Mint's Lunar coins are Pitcairn Islands issues, so I'm guessing the Fiji Dragon was done by someone else.. (anyone know who ??) I have a couple of those Tiger coins (the animal depicted on the coin is the Siberian Tiger), and I'm here to tell you that they kick RRR's I also have the gilded Ox, & the coloured Rat (a few of these) which I managed to get for the "right price" IMO, the NZ Mint does a very nice job with their coloured & gilded coins. Here's the currently listed Lunar coins >> http://www.nzmint.com/coins/shop-online/chinese-lunar-year?nocache=1
I got the Tiger coins (+ some others) from a ebay seller in Germany, and Rats from a NZ ebay seller (presumably a dealer) who was off-loading a few at close to spot (BIN or Make an Offer).. I "made an offer" Ox (& other odds'n'sods), I purchased direct from NZ Mint website.
Dan : Thanks for all the information. What was your experience with the NZ Mint? What would shipping be like?
No problem whatsoever with NZ Mint. You do need to register, but this is pretty straightforward.. At the top of the page, there is a little drop-down thingy which gives the option of which currency you would like displayed.. Shipping, From memory (it was a while ago), they shipped via Fedex, which I recall thinking was "a bit steep", but not prohibitive.. Pretty sure this was fully insured & trackable, so at the end of the day, for an order in the hundreds of $$$s, it wasn't so bad You would be able to go through the "shopping cart" process (up to the "checkout" stage), and the shipping cost would be shown (I think).. You can then decide if it's acceptable (or not)... As I said, It's been a while since I ordered from them, but I certainly don't rule out going back there again. In fact, with the NZD/AUD exchange rate such as it is, now would be as good a time as any to be buying from NZ
I have ordered directly from NZ mint and they are very reasonable. I ordered a 5 coin set that was fairly bulky and a couple of loose coins. I considered $24.67 very good for nearly 2kg parcel. Turn around time was quick also. They do have some nice coins but for some reason not a lot of people seem to be interested in them. Maybe just not us Aussies Order #: XXXXX Shipping Method: Australia 1.51 - 2kg Products Subtotal: $XXXXXXXX Australia 1.51 - 2kg: $24.67 ------
