Central bank reclaims unsold lunar new year coins amid surge in silver prices

Taipei, Feb. 5 (CNA) Taiwan's central bank has reclaimed unsold commemorative Lunar New Year zodiac coins from past years to prevent arbitrage as global silver prices surged sharply, a bank official said Thursday.

The coins were taken back from Chunghwa Post, which had been selling leftover zodiac coins from previous years, the official said. Initial sales of the coins are handled by the Bank of Taiwan.

Each coin contains one troy ounce of silver. The central bank noticed a spike in purchases of older zodiac coins in mid-December last year as silver prices climbed, the official said.

Silver prices rose about 140 percent year-on-year in 2025, jumping from around US$30 per ounce in 2024 to as high as US$120 this January before easing to about US$87.

The central bank said it acted to prevent people from buying older coins at fixed prices and reselling them for profit based on higher silver values. As the coins are intended as commemorative items, the bank did not want them used for speculation, the official said.

Rising silver prices also pushed the price of this year's zodiac coin set to a record NT$2,450 (US$77.92) to reflect higher production costs. Over the past decade, sets typically sold for NT$1,600-NT$1,900, with the previous high of NT$2,000 recorded in 2013.

The reclaimed coins have been transferred to the Central Engraving and Printing Plant and will be reused as materials for future coin production, the official said.