2024 Year of the dragon 20€ High Relief Silver coin – Paris Mint

Description

Every year, the chinese calendar series presents a new animal. 2024 is the year of the dragon.

In Chinese culture, this mythical animal symbolizes power, nobleness and success. Therefore, natives of the dragon sign are naturally charismatic people to whom luck often smiles.

Surrounded by a circle of traditional Chinese motives, a dragon is featured in the center of the coin. It goes through the coin using the door displayed on the reverse. The mythical creature is featured with the traditional look of the dragon in Chinese iconography.  The ideogram of the dragon appears on the right side. The yeardate 2024 and the inscription “Year of the Dragon” appear at the top, in the outer circle.

The reverse shows all the animals of the Chinese zodiac. They are all featured on a screen surrounding a traditional Chinese temple door.  A complete cycle of the Chinese zodiac will be composed from 2018 to 2029. Each of these twelve years therefore features an animal from this calendar. The face value is visible at the top left and the “RF” mention is on the door.

The Collection

One of the oldest in the world, the chinese calendar is a sun-and-moon calendar. Months are set according to the moon, i.e. the first day of each month, is the new moon and the 15th day is the fuul moon. Because the solar year counts 12 lunar month plus a dozen of days, seven intercalary months are added over each 19 years, in order for the calendar year to stay within a solar year. Chinese astrology is based on a 12 years cycle, represented by twelve animals. In order appear the Rat, the Ox, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Snake, the Horse, the Goat, the Monkey, the Rooster, the Dog and the Pig. Each animal is a symbol of characteristic personality traits of persons born during this sign.

Creating the Chinese calendar collection is always an exercise in mysticism. We have to pay tribute to the lunar calendar while at the same time bringing a French touch to it, creating this mixture of cultures. Added to this are the character traits linked to the signs, which we try to translate into a kind of anthropomorphism represented by the attitude we express through each animal!

 – Engraver word