A gold Rattus, the fourth of the Zi:Sin 12 Guardians, Korea’s lunars, lands to join the silver bullion version

After a look at the latest in the hit Chiwoo Cheonwang series of bullion rounds just yesterday, we move on to the other major series from Korean mint, KOMSCO. Zi:SIn is a beautifully realised and very loose interpretation of the lunar calendar, using the fable Twelve Guardians in place of the usual animals. Launching in 2017 with Gallus (Rooster), and followed up by Canis (Dog) and Scrofa (Pig), the 2020 issue features Rattus (Rat). These make a very refreshing change from the usual lunars and dig deep into Ancient Korean imagery for inspiration. Here, it relates to the twelve directions that are each guarded by one of the figures, so don’t confuse this with being a lunar series – it isn’t – it’s something quite unique.

ZI:SIN Rattus is the Queen of the underground cave at the Chiwoo Empire and has the ability to forsee danger. She is pictured dressed in a celestial robe with a dagger on her waist. Rattus waits at the top of the cave to enjoy the darkness and brightness of the world under the full moon. It is here that she is able to foresee that a great war is coming, and alerts Chiwoo Cheonwang. As you can see, these tie in neatly with the lore behind the Chiwoo Cheonwang series and make a great companion range.

The silver coin came out a little while ago, but now a gold version has joined it. This is also a 1oz round, but struck in 0.999 gold and with a relatively small mintage of 1,200 pieces. The obverse is exactly the same as the new 2020 Chiwoo, an enhanced version of the one employed on previous issues (except for the date, of course). The silver 1oz round has a mintage of 22,000 pieces, so just two-thirds the number of Chiwoo’s.

You can see the first three issues below. Each is an excellent piece of artwork, displaying that distinctive East Asian style that has increased in popularity in recent years. There have been numerous limited variants in the past. A 10oz silver version, as well as proof
silver numismatics (including part gilded variants), so hopefully that will
be the case again. There was even 2019 issue with a lenticular
background called ‘Eclipse’, which we’ve depicted below instead of the
standard bullion version.

Well worth a look, this is one of the more interesting bullion series on offer at the moment and is scheduled to continue through to 2028. It should be a fine looking series when complete. Available now in silver form, with gold hitting dealers shortly. They can be bought directly from the distributor, Coins Today, or from a broad range of dealers worldwide.