The 2017 Lunar issue inaugurated the Royal Mint's second Lunar Series, cycling back through the Chinese zodiac for the first time since the original series concluded in 2012. At just over a kilogram of fine silver and 100mm across, these pieces were never intended as anything but display objects — mintage was capped in the low hundreds, and most were sold directly to collectors through the Royal Mint's own subscription program.
The £500 face value is a legal tender fiction; no issuing authority has ever redeemed one at face.
The 2017 Lunar issue inaugurated the Royal Mint's second Lunar Series, cycling back through the Chinese zodiac for the first time since the original series concluded in 2012. At just over a kilogram of fine silver and 100mm across, these pieces were never intended as anything but display objects — mintage was capped in the low hundreds, and most were sold directly to collectors through the Royal Mint's own subscription program.
The £500 face value is a legal tender fiction; no issuing authority has ever redeemed one at face.