Belarus has issued Chinese zodiac coins annually since the early 2000s, targeting the collector and gift market rather than circulation — none of these pieces ever saw a cash register. The 2018 Pig issue falls near the end of that long run, by which point the National Bank had refined the gold-plating and stone-setting process through over a decade of similar productions.
The cubic zirconia inlay is press-set rather than bezel-mounted, a detail that affects long-term stone retention in handled examples.
Belarus has issued Chinese zodiac coins annually since the early 2000s, targeting the collector and gift market rather than circulation — none of these pieces ever saw a cash register. The 2018 Pig issue falls near the end of that long run, by which point the National Bank had refined the gold-plating and stone-setting process through over a decade of similar productions.
The cubic zirconia inlay is press-set rather than bezel-mounted, a detail that affects long-term stone retention in handled examples.