Lunar Year of the Snake 2025 United Kingdom £5 Brilliant Uncirculated Coin

Denomination: 5£
Alloy: cu/ni
Weight: 28.28 g
Diameter: 38,6 mm
Quality Brilliant Uncirculated
Year: 2024

A beautiful celebration of the most significant symbol in Chinese culture
The first Lunar coin to feature the official coinage portrait of His Majesty The King

In 2024, Chinese New Year, The Year of the Dragon starts on 10 February. A joyful time that is marked by communities all over the world, friends and family will gather to enjoy traditional food, watch firework displays and gift children money in red envelopes. Each year is characterised by one of 12 zodiac animals, and 2024 sees the dragon in the ascendancy. Wise and powerful, the dragon is China’s most important cultural symbol and has come to represent confidence, courage and adventurousness. People born under its zodiac sign are said to possess these traits

Face value: 0.2 $
Issuing country: Samoa
Weight: 25 g
Diameter: 40 mm

Poseidon, as the god of water and of the sea, is the lord of sea creatures, so the sign of the pair of fish is more than appropriate. Pisces, however, also dives deeper in Poseidon’s realm. For starters, it is associated with the feet, and Poseidon is also a god of the earth, of tremors and geological processes, closely tied to water eroding rocks. The sea is also considered to be where the pillars of the universe are located in most western Eurasian religions, and in Greek thought Poseidon’s realm extends even to the Underworld, where the four rivers run, a connection particularly important in the more chthonic versions of Hellenic religion. If Cancer is the Moon and it’s spiritual essence while Scorpio is blood and the impulses, with Aquarius also representing sky waters, Pisces is simply the pure nature of water as an element, symbolizing the immensity of the seas and the many freshwater bodies. It’s the sign of mutability and change, resonating with water’s classical attribute as well as the very real quick and natural changes into ice, liquid, gas or cloud and also the currents. It also symbolizes Spring waters, be them from rains or melting snow and ice, feeding the fields and civilization, acting as water changing the surrounding environment.

Denomination: 0,25 €
Alloy: Cupro-nickel Nordicgold
Weight: 15,8 g
Diameter: 34 mm
Quality Brilliant Uncirculated
Year: 2025
In Chinese culture, the snake is the most enigmatic animal of the zodiac.

Natives of the Snake sign are rather secretive and cautious. They are renowned for their wise and calm nature.

According to legend, during the race to select the animals of the zodiac, the cunning serpent secretly slipped onto the horse's hoof and took sixth place. This story reflects his strategic intelligence.

Surrounded by plum blossom, a popular symbol in Chinese history, art, and lanterns, the snake depiction appeals to children. The inscription 'Year of the snake’ and the yeardate appear at the center of the coin. The ideogram of the snake appears below.

On the reverse side, all the animals of the Chinese zodiac are drawn in a cartoon-like way around the Ying and Yang symbol. A complete cycle of the Chinese zodiac will be composed from 2018 to 2029. Each of these twelve years features an animal from this calendar. The face value is visible in the center of the coin as well as the symbol "RF".

Issuing Country: France
Face value: 5 €
Metal: Copper/Nickel
Diameter: 29 mm
Quality: B.U.
Mintage: 25 000

The wheel of the zodiac signs is engraved on the coin's gold-colored crown. One sign stands out from the rest, as it is larger than the others and has a sandblasted background, different from the smoother one of the others. It is the symbol of Aries. Part of the wheel is hidden by flames, a reminder of the element of the Aries sign, fire. The bust of a ram with majestic horns and a serene air occupies most of the central space on the obverse of the coin. The background features a starry sky in which the Aries constellation is outlined.

Materiall: CuNi
Weight: 7 g
Diameter: 22,25 mm
Mintage:

An extraordinary collection accompanies the approach to the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games of Milan Cortina 2026 and celebrates its spirit through its most iconic symbols: the logo of the event, the journey of the flame, the mascot and the winter disciplines associated with the host locations. Each coin in the collection is a tribute to the magic of sport and to Italy.

Obverse: In the centre, the official logo of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games. Arch-shaped, the inscription “Repubblica Italiana”. In the right field, the “R”, identifying the Mint of Rome and “2025”, the year of the coin’s issue.

Reverse: In the centre, a stylised frontal perspective of the Milan Cathedral. Arch-shaped the inscription “MILANO CORTINA 2026 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES”; On the left “A.VECCHIO,” signature of the designer Antonio Vecchio; at the bottom centre “1/4 EURO”, coin’s value.

Astrology is a discipline that attracts a wide audience thanks to its playful and accessible nature. It touches everyone in an intimate way and creates a sense of belonging by focusing on personality traits. Moreover, its aesthetic symbolism offers rich visual elements that can be an inexhaustible source of inspiration for artists. Astrological signs appear to be an obvious theme to explore for Monnaie de Paris, which therefore affirms its desire to appeal to as many people as possible, while allowing the talents of its craftsmen to express themselves.

A set contain the 12 €5 bicolor coins.