Canada 2013 Year of the Snake $20 Silver Coin

The Royal Canadian Mint has started accepting pre-orders for the 2013 Year of the Snake Fine Silver $20 Coin. This coin features a different design than the previous Year of the Snake coin releases, which can be found in previous posts here and here. At this time, the new coin can only be ordered by Master’s Club members, with availability to the general public starting on October 30.

The reverse design of the coin features a snake coiling on a tree perch. An inscription above reads “Canada 20 Dollars”. The field to the left of the snake contains the Chinese symbols for the snake and “2013 Fine Silver Argent Pur 9999”. The obverse features the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II designed by Susanna Blunt.

Each coin is struck in .9999 fine silver with a weight of 7.96 grams and diameter of 27 mm. The coins are priced at $31.95 CAD. The total mintage is 128,888 pieces, although only 28,000 are indicated to be available in North America.

The coins feature a three fold combination of finishes. This consists of a matte finish for the background created using laser etching and both brilliant and mirrored surfaces used for the raised design elements.

The combination of finishes sounds similar to the one used for the 25th Anniversary Loonie Silver Dollar. When I received this coin I was much more impressed with the appearance in hand compared to the product pictures.

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Comments

  1. Michael Zielinski says

    it does have the same weight, diameter, and denomination as the coins of the “20 for 20” series, but the price is not $20.

    Perhaps it will be a new annual offering for the Chinese zodiac.

  2. Samuel says

    just did some research, it seems there is no previous coins in this size/face value. it looks like the 20 for 20, because it has the “FINE SILVER bluh bluh..” as the 20 for 20, but different price. it also looks like the $10 dragon of last yr, with the chinese letter and 2013, but different size and face value. in conclusion, this snake is a hybrid of the 20 for 20 and the dragon $10 coin.

    it said only 28000 for NA, but 78% already sold, meaning abt 5000 left.

  3. Dirk says

    I’m pretty sure the 78% represents that already allocated to Asia from the total mintage. Do the math. Unclear how many left for North America.

  4. Louis says

    Not to change the subject, but have you folks seen the new Tasmanian Devil coin from Perth? It’s not really my cup of tea, but it is pretty cool and would probably appeal to people who bought the hedgehog coin.

  5. Dirk says

    Sorry but I don’t think you got the memo. Perth is worhless for resale anymore, too many hokey coins and too overpriced. I collect certain coins from them but the days of financing your purchases with quick flips are over sad to say.

  6. Louis says

    I am aware of the decline in Perth values, Dirk. I was just asking what people think of the design, that’s all. It was just released and many people may not have even seen it yet. As for values, try selling any of your world coins apart from bullion and you will find it hard to get your money back let along make a profit.

  7. Dirk says

    Louis – check out Gainesville, Great Warriors for sale for low 40s! Those were $105 list from Perth last year, thats the state of Perth, practically melt from a major dealer in less than one year. What we are witnessing is a complete collapse of the Mint markets – overpriced coins, too many varities, too high mintages, reminting old series’ and so on. Its amazing to me how unclueless these Mints are.

  8. Louis says

    Same thing has happened to most modern US silver commems which are only worth melt value apart from a couple exceptions.

  9. Shutter says

    Same thing has happened to most modern US silver commems which are only worth melt value apart from a couple exceptions.

    Not quiet the same, since US coins didn’t cost as much.

    WRT the Tasmanian Devil coin, I don’t really like it. The animal is pretty ugly. The previous coins in the series were much better. The Tasmanian Tiger seems to still carry some premium.

  10. Cdn Coin says

    This is not part of the $20 for $20. This coin is part of the Chinese Zodiac series. Usually the Zodiac series have started with the Tiger (3 years behind the Snake). Hope this helps clarify.

  11. Frankie says

    In case anyone is interested, gainesville have the kilo snake proof (500 mintage) for $17/oz over spot (around $1650 incl. p&p by credit card) and the gemstone kilo snake (5000 mintage) for $15/oz over spot (around $1580). Both are well below PM website prices. They also have most of the other snake releases for reasonable prices. I wouldn’t have thought that prices start to drop so soon after release!
    That’s not a good omen…!

  12. Frankie says

    Just as a heads-up, the upcoming Perth Mint 2oz lunar proof set will have only 100 sets available on the PM website with the remaining 900 sets available from silber-corner.de – i.e. NONE should be available from US sellers (at least initially). This is according to the info I came across in the PM blog: http://blog.perthmint.com.au/2012/10/02/october-2012-new-product-bulletin-out-today/
    The good thing about this set is that it works like a subscription – every year you can purchase the next 2oz coin without having to sweat…
    I used silber-corner several times now and although they are a bit slow (shipping takes 2 weeks to the US), I’m happy with their service.
    Michael, it may be worthwhile covering this in a separate article – it’s exactly 1 week to go and gives everyone interested sufficient time to make the usual decision to buy or not to buy.
    I already pre-ordered one set ($950 incl. delivery) and may order another one, depending on my financial situation in a week’s time…

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