Issued as part of China's lunar gold series, which the People's Bank of China has produced annually since 1981. The 2008 Rat issue landed in a year of exceptional national significance — Beijing hosted the Summer Olympics, and domestic demand for commemorative precious metal products was at an unusual peak. The colored variant was produced in lower quantities than the standard gold issue, though the People's Bank has never released granular mintage breakdowns for individual format variants within the lunar series.
Issued as part of China's lunar gold series, which the People's Bank of China has produced annually since 1981. The 2008 Rat issue landed in a year of exceptional national significance — Beijing hosted the Summer Olympics, and domestic demand for commemorative precious metal products was at an unusual peak. The colored variant was produced in lower quantities than the standard gold issue, though the People's Bank has never released granular mintage breakdowns for individual format variants within the lunar series.