MAS Unveils 2020 Year of the Rat Chinese Almanac Coins

Singapore, 5 November 2019… The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today unveiled the 2020 Year of the Rat Almanac coins, the fourth issue in the Singapore Fourth Chinese Almanac Coin SeriesThe Series was launched in 2017 and a new coin will be issued each year over a span of 12 years to 2028. Each year’s issue depicts a zodiac animal in a park or natural landscape setting in Singapore.. The 10 versions of the collectible coins will be issued on 1 January 2020.

2020 Year of the Rat Coins

2 The 2020 Year of the Rat coins feature the Rat against the backdrop of the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Singapore’s first ASEAN Heritage Park. The obverse of each coin bears the Singapore Coat of Arms with the year 2020.

3 The coins comprise different metallic compositions, shapes and minting relief effects. Special premium sets comprising various coin combinations will also be on sale. More details of the coins are in the Annex.

Sale of Coins

4 The coins will be sold by The Singapore Mint. Pre-orders can be placed with The Singapore Mint from 5 November to 16 December 2019. The coins will be allocated by balloting if oversubscribed.

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Annex

About Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve

Sungei Buloh was first opened as a Nature Park in 1993 and gazetted as a nature reserve and renamed Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve in 2002. Later in 2002, the Reserve was recognised as a site of international importance for migratory birds by Wetlands International, marking the Reserve’s formal entry into the East Asian-Australasian Shorebird Site Network. In 2003, the Reserve became Singapore’s first ASEAN Heritage Park. The Reserve offers Singaporeans a sanctuary to appreciate the vast biodiversity of flora and fauna in its extensive mangrove forest, mudflats, ponds and swamps. During the migratory season from September to March, visitors can catch sight of the diverse flocks of shorebirds or waders including plovers and sandpipers.

Source: National Parks Board

Details of the 2020 Year of the Rat Coins

The specifications of the coins are listed below. All of the coins, except (a), are accompanied by a serialised certificate of authenticity. The number of coins minted (mintage) is inclusive of coins that are sold individually and in sets.

a. Nickel-plated Zinc Proof-like Coin
Nickel-plated zinc coin with a face value of $2 in a round shape with a diameter of 40.70 mm. Mintage: 50,000 pieces

b. ¼ troy oz Silver Proof-like Colour Coin
999 fine silver coin with face value of $2 in a round shape with a diameter of 27 mm. The Rat is featured in full colour. Mintage: 20,000 pieces

c. 1 troy oz Silver Proof Coin
999 fine silver coin with face value of $5 in an octagonal shape with a diameter of 45 mm. Mintage: 12,000 pieces

d. 1 troy oz Silver Proof Colour Coin
999 fine silver coin with face value of $5 in a floral shape with a diameter of 45 mm. The Rat is featured in full colour. Mintage: 12,000 pieces

e. 5 troy oz Silver Proof Coin
999 fine silver coin with face value of $20 in a round shape with a diameter of 65 mm. Mintage: 500 pieces

f. 1 kilogram Silver Proof-like Coin
999 fine silver coin with a face value of $80 in a rectangular shape with a dimension of 114.50 mm x 60.50 mm. Mintage: 200 pieces

g. 1 gram Gold Brilliant Uncirculated Coin
999.9 fine gold coin with a face value of $5 in a rectangular shape with a dimension of 8.70 mm x 15 mm. Mintage: 3,000 pieces

h. ¼ troy oz Gold Proof Coin
999.9 fine gold coin with a face value of $20 in a round shape with a diameter of 21.96 mm. Mintage: 1,500 pieces

i. 1 troy oz Gold Proof Coin
999.9 fine gold coin with a face value of $100 in an octagonal shape with a diameter of 40 mm. Mintage: 1,000 pieces

j. 5 troy oz Gold Proof Coin
999.9 fine gold coin with a face value of $200 in a round shape with a diameter of 60 mm. Mintage: 100 pieces

The 2020 Year of the Rat coins are also available in premium sets. Each coin set comes with a serialised certificate of authenticity.

a. Silver 2-Coin Set
Consists of a 1 troy oz Silver Proof Colour coin and a 1 troy oz Silver Proof coin. Limited to 2,000 sets.

b. Silver 3-Coin Set
Consists of a 1 troy oz Silver Proof Colour coin, a 1 troy oz Silver Proof coin, and a ¼ troy oz Silver Proof-Like Colour coin. Limited to 2,000 sets.

c. Gold & Silver 3-Coin Set
Consists of a 1 troy oz Gold Proof coin, a 1 troy oz Silver Proof Colour coin and a 1 troy oz Silver Proof coin. Limited to 500 sets.

d. Gold & Silver 5 oz 2-Coin Set
Consists of a 5 troy oz Gold Proof coin and a 5 troy oz Silver Proof coin. They are positioned to form the auspicious figure ‘8’. Limited to 50 sets.

The images of the coins and coin sets are shown below.

Nickel-plated Zinc Proof-like Coin