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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1975
ISSUE OF GOLD COINS TO MARK YEAR OF DRAGON
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THE FIRST OF WHAT MAY BE A SERIES OF 12 UNIQUE GOLD COINS, EACH DEPICTING ONE OF THE TWELVE ANIMALS TRADITIONALLY REPRESENTATIVE OF PARTICULAR LUNAR YEARS, WILL SHORTLY BE ISSUED FOR THE COMING NEW YEAR.
THE COIN TO BE ISSUED WILL BE THE ONLY ONE ISSUED BY HONG KONG THE DRAGON. TO SHOW A LUNAR YEAR ANIMAL
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THE OTHER ELEVEN ANIMALS IN THEIR ORDER ARE THE SNAKE, HORSE, GOAT, MONKEY, COCKEREL, DOG, PIG, RAT, OX, TIGER AND RABBIT.
THE DRAGON YEAR GOLD COINS WILL HAVE A LIMITED CIRCULATION OF NO MORE THAN 30,000, OF WHICH NO MORE THAN 10,000 WILL BE PROOFS.
EACH COIN IS MADE OF 22 CARAT GOLD, WITH A STANDARD WEIGHT OF 15.976 GRAMMES AND A DIAMETER OF 28.4 MM. (1.118 INCHES). IT HAS A PORTRAIT OF THE QUEEN ON THE OBVERSE SIDE AND A PICTURE OF THE DRAGON ON THE REVERSE.
THEY MAY BE BOUGHT IN BRILLIANT UNCIRCULATED CONDITION AT THE IR FACE VALUE OF $1,000 OR IN PROOF QUALITY AT $1,500. EACH COIN WILL BE SUPPLIED WITH A DESCRIPTIVE BOOKLET AND PACKAGED IN AN ATTRACTIVE PRESENTATION CASE.
THE FIRST TIME LEGAL TENDER GOLD COINS WERE ISSUED IN HONG KONG WAS IN MAY THIS YEAR, MARKING THE VISIT OF THE QUEEN AND PRINCE PHILIP.
A TOTAL OF 20,000 COINS WERE ISSUED AT THAT TIME TO MEET LOCAL AND OVERSEAS DEMAND, SOME 18,000 HONG KONG RESIDENTS APPLIED FOR TilEM.
THE PROOFS OF THE DRAGON YEAR GOLD COIN ARE MINTED WITH SPECIAL QUALITY DIES AND THE COIN DISCS ARE POLISHED TO A MIRROR-LIKE FINISH, AND HAVE THIR RELIEF DESIGN DELICATELY FROSTED.
BECAUSE OF THEIR FINE QUALITY, THEIR LIMITED CIRCULATION AND THE FACT THAT THEY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT, BOTH THE PROOFS AND THE VERY HIGH QUALITY UNCIRCULATED COINS ARE EXPECTED TO BE IN GREAT DEMAND ALL OVER THE WORLD.
TO ENSURE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY, EACH APPLICATION IS RESTRICTED TO ONE COIN. APPLICATION FORMS WILL BE OBTAINABLE FROM A DATE TO BE ANNOUNCED IN A PRESS ADVERTISEMENT AT ALL BRANCHES OF THE HONG KONG AND SHANGHAI BANKING CORPORATION.
IN CASE THE ISSUE IS OVERSUBSCRIBED A BALLOT WILL BE HELD AND THE SUCCESSFUL APPLICANT WILL BE NOTIFIED INDIVIDUALLY.
THE COINS SHOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR COLLECTION BEFORE THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON ACTUALLY BEGINS.
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