Coined "The Year of the Ox"

I'm still scratching my head trying to decipher how different a cow from the West would look from an ox from the east. Pam stumped me when she remarked it was a "Western-looking" cow after taking a look at the picture (left) of the 2009 Australia Year of the Ox 1oz 999 Silver Coloured Edition Coin being sold by the Singapore Mint. You decide.

After today's chat with Singapore Mint's Director Yip Pak Ling, I think it's a novel idea to replace the traditional red packets we give out to children at Lunar New Year with special edition coins or the 2009 Hongbao Coin Set which consists a scallop-shaped $5 uncirculated coin and newly minted coins of the 5, 10, 50 and one-dollar denomination.

Speaking of sets, we've got two Singapore Lunar Ox 2 oz 999 Silver Piedfort Proof Colour Coins each worth $163 (design below, but colours aren't precise) to give away to two lucky listeners/blog readers of The Living Room, courtesy of the Singapore Mint. Either email us at or leave us a comment on this blog, telling us why you ought to be the one charging away with one of these limited edition coins! (mintage: 20,000)
Hurry! Closing date for submissions is Thursday, 8th Jan 2009.