Similar in theme to their Rectangular Dragon bullion series, one that ironically started around the same time, the Perth Mint’s ‘Chinese Myths and Legends’ series pairs the legendary Chinese dragon with another powerful beast – real or imagined. Like the rectangular series, this one is also available in both silver and gold. The style here is consistent and has at its centre the iconic flaming pearl of Chinese mythology. Two creatures arc their way around it, seemingly posturing for dominance. The first release used the legendary Phoenix to butt dragon head, followed by the Tiger, and with the occasional detour, has remained true to that concept.

The style of the three issues to date is remarkably consistent, considering that a different artist is responsible for each one. All are fine looking designs, although we have a particular soft spot for the Tiger coin. As we said earlier, this is primarily a one-ounce focused series, but also putting in a later appearance was a ten-ounce silver version with a highly restricted mintage of just 888 pieces, and carrying a near 76 mm (3″) diameter. Later issues expanded the range to include coloured silver coins, and even an antique one in 2023. A small proportion of the mintage of those is available from LPM, mounted in the Perth Mint’s card format.

If you like the designs and want a better looking version, the Perth Mint has exactly what you need. Proof variants are available, and best of all, a high-relief coin with the mint’s signature concave mirrored background field. The range is handled exclusively around the world by the big Hong Kong based dealer, LPM, with the Perth Mint just handling sales in Australia itself. A pretty and well liked series.

Also worth noting, is that the 2017 Dragon & Phoenix one-ounce silver version was minted with an error for at least a small part of the total mintage. We’ve seen numbers from 1,000 to 10,000 of the 50,000 minted having the error, but the Perth Mint itself seems either unsure, or unwilling to clarify. Whatever the case, some of these were struck with a polished area behind the neck of the Phoenix (and a much smaller area by the dragon’s foot), instead of the matte finish to match the rest. A minor point, of course, but we saw some silly prices going around for them. Errors are always sought after, but we’d advise against paying stupid amounts for what is an error of undetermined size.