Perth Mint's Dragon and Koi series occupies an unusual position in Australian bullion: it targets Chinese-Australian collector markets with deliberate symbolism timed to the lunar calendar, but is issued under the standard bullion framework rather than as a formal commemorative. The result is a coin that trades at a premium well above melt in Southeast Asian secondary markets but is catalogued and priced as straight gold in Western inventories — a persistent valuation gap that dealers on both sides exploit.
Perth Mint's Dragon and Koi series occupies an unusual position in Australian bullion: it targets Chinese-Australian collector markets with deliberate symbolism timed to the lunar calendar, but is issued under the standard bullion framework rather than as a formal commemorative. The result is a coin that trades at a premium well above melt in Southeast Asian secondary markets but is catalogued and priced as straight gold in Western inventories — a persistent valuation gap that dealers on both sides exploit.