1996 opens Series I of the Perth Mint's Lunar Series with the Year of the Mouse — the very first coin in what was designed from the outset as a 12-year, 12-animal zodiac cycle, not a standalone annual release. Series I mintages were lower than the later Series II and III runs, produced before the program's popularity was established, which is why Series I coins now carry a genuine scarcity premium over their later equivalents.
A Series I Mouse costs meaningfully more than the equivalent Series II (2008) or Series III (2020) Mouse coin — confirm which series a listing describes, since "Year of the Mouse" alone applies to three different coins across the program's history.
Log the year, your cost basis, and photos — and see it valued at today's spot price alongside the rest of your collection.
Start tracking freeThree so far — one from Series I (1996), one from Series II (2008), and one from Series III (2020) — since the 12-year cycle has repeated the Mouse twice since the program began.
Series I had lower mintages, produced before the Lunar program's popularity was established — a real scarcity premium over the Series II and III equivalents of the same animal.