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The Chinese Year of the Dragon is the fifth year in a twelve year cycle of the Chinese calendar and to commemorate this the Royal Australian Mint issued this stunning edition. The Chinese Zodiac is composed of 12 animals arranged in order from the rat through to the pig. The order was established by a race between the animals, thousands of years ago orchestrated by the Jade Emperor of China. Chinese astrology and the Chinese zodiac are commemorated by The Australian Lunar Coin sequence. The 12-year sequence features coin releases marking the Year of the Rat, Year of the Mouse, Year of the Ox, Year of the Tiger, Year of the Rabbit, Year of the Dragon, Year of the Snake, Year of the Horse, Year of the Goat, Year of the Monkey, Year of the Rooster, Year of the Dog and Year of the Pig.
The 2012 Chinese Year of the Dragon began on the 23rd January but the real Chinese year is 4710. It is normally the darkest day of the month that the Chinese year will start and Chinese people celebrate up until the brightest day of the month around two weeks later. This particular tiger year is fused with the element Metal and will only do so every 60 years. Some famous people born in the year of the dragon were Sigmund Freud, Joan of Arc, Bruce Lee, Florence Nightingale and Russell Crowe (Travel China Guide, 2014) . Since 1996, the Royal Australian Mint has been producing commemorative coins celebrating the famous Chinese Calendar with lunar designs. The designs of each animal varies year to year.
This 2012 Year of the Dragon is the 5th year of the lunar series. The
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