On Jan. 26 of solar year 2009 the new Lunar Year of 4707 will dawn. It is designated a Year of the Ox. It is the second year in the new 12-year lunar cycle inaugurated last February. For the Vietnamese it is the Year of the Water Buffalo.
Once again mints around the world are marking the occasion with an abundance of new coins. Most issues are parts of ongoing 12-year series. Although lunar zodiacal issues now provide a major collecting field in their own right, the main significance of the coins, particularly for the Chinese, remains in giving (and in receiving) them as gifts.
Lai shi money is one of the more important traditions of the first day of the New Lunar Year. The cash commonly arrives in red envelopes, gifted by adults to children or other junior relatives. The red symbolizes good fortune, and the amount of money is vital in letting the recipient know the depth of their tie with the donor. Traditionally, a suitable sum involves numerous auspicious eights in its total. And today smart mints package their lunar coins in red or attempt to involve "8" in one way or another, often in the mintage.