Korean bullion coin Zi: Sin Rattus joins Chiwoo Cheonwang in the transition to three dimensional silver statue
Over the last few years, Korean culture has increased its presence in the bullion coin market from almost zero, to one of the more eagerly awaited releases in the calendar. Amongst several ranges now emanating from Korea, the flagship product is the now iconic Chiwoo Cheonwang. That range is now five issues old, but of most interest to us here is the early 2020 release of a beautiful pair of Chiwoo statues in sterling silver.
Running alongside Chiwoo is a similar series that focuses on the Korean Lunar Guardians, called Zi: SIn. The last of the four to have been issued to date was Rattus, and it’s to this character that Coins Today have looked for the next miniature to put in an appearance. The depiction of Rattus on the coin is very clearly the basis for the miniature.
It’s another attractive and quite unique piece, depicting Rattus holding the full moon in one hand and a dagger in the other, while dressed in her celestial robe. She is the Queen of the underground cave at the Chiwoo Empire and 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.
Like Chiwoo, the statue is available in two sizes, with a monster 30 oz version the more impressive of the pair. Whereas the smaller Chiwoo statue came in at around half that weight, the smaller of the Rattus pair halves that agin, to a considerably more affordable 8 oz, again, of sterling 0.925 silver. Just 25 of the 30 oz figure will be cast, and 100 of the smaller. Only 10 of the 30 oz Chiwoo statues were produced, so we can assume its release was a big success. It deserved it, in my view.
This one is a little less recognisable than Chiwoo, but no less impressive a piece. We can imagine this would look quite superb on a turntable in a display case, as there’s tons of detail on the back side as well. All three of the previous bullion coins (Gallus, Canis, Scrofa) had designs that would make this transition to three dimensions, so maybe we’ll see more of these in the coming years. I hope so. Available shortly from Coins Today Korea, and selected dealers worldwide.
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