Year of the Piggy Bank? Mints from Canada to Singapore hope to cash in on Year of the Pig with collectable coins
- A dozen mints globally are selling special, uncirculated coins and notes to celebrate the holiday
- People’s Bank of China offered a collectable pig coin worth US$15,000
More than a decade ago Aries Cheung, a Toronto-based artist, graphic designer and filmmaker, was approached by a representative from the Royal Canadian Mint.
Would he like to enter a competition for a new series of coins to celebrate the Lunar New Year?
The 58-year-old Hong Kong native won, and this year’s coin celebrating the Year of the Pig will be his 11th design from that initial competition. He’ll celebrate his birth year – the Year of the Rat – with next year’s coin, the final of his initial designs.
His designs and other similar ones are part of a growing trend as a dozen government-owned mints from Atlanta to Paris to Singapore look to cash in on the annual holiday by selling special, uncirculated coins and notes that are also legal tender.
“Seeing it in a physical form is really quite a thrill for me,” said Cheung, who studied graphic design and illustration at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and graduated with a degree in visual arts from York University in Ontario. “I can feel the honour and I can feel the love of people when they collect coins.”
This year, the Canadian mint is offering four different coins to celebrate Lunar New Year, including a gold and a silver one designed by Cheung.
