Rwanda Silver Coins

Silver Bullions Coin Programs from Rwanda

There’s no shortage of silver bullion options for investors today. The market has expanded significantly in the 2000s, with numerous nations introducing new coin series or expanding upon existing offerings. Among the high-profile programs available now are silver bullion coins from the Republic of Rwanda on the African continent. The top collections from Rwanda include the Rwandan Lunar Ounce, Nautical Ounce, and Wildlife Series. Learn more about each one below.

The Rwandan Lunar Ounce Series

Introduced in 2017, the Rwandan Lunar Ounce collection is one of the newest lunar-themed collections on the market. The Rwandan Lunar Ounce bullion coins are available in both silver and gold each year. The program is set to run through 2028 when it concludes with the Year of the Monkey release.

Rwandan Lunar Ounces coins feature a face value in Rwandan Francs (FRW). The series includes a 1 Troy oz silver bullion coin and a 1 Troy oz silver proof coin, as well as a 1 Troy oz gold bullion coin. These are the only options available in the collection and you’ll find extremely limited mintage figures. The latest issue included a mintage of just 1,000 proof silver coins and 188 gold bullion coins. The 1 oz silver bullion coin has an unlimited minting figure with a set period of production that runs until the end of the calendar year of issue marked on the coin.

Designs and Packaging of Rwandan Lunar Ounce Coins

The reverse of the Rwandan Lunar Ounce coins features the official seal of the Republic of Rwanda. Included are several tribal images, such as a small hut in the center of the seal. Engravings on the coin come from the linguistic background of the Banyarwanda, a language known as Kinyarwanda. The inscriptions include “National Bank of Rwanda” and the face value of the coin.

On the obverse design field is a new image each year. The common features of all Rwandan Lunar Ounce obverse designs include “shattered-glass” appearance, a mosaic of small tiles that form the overall design field. Markings include “Lunar Ounce,” year of issue, weight, metal content, and purity, as well as the Chinese symbol for the animal represented in that year. Specific designs for each of the releases in this collection include the following obverse images for individual years:

• 2017 Year of the Rooster: In the middle of the broken-glass design field is a rooster with tall tail feathers and its beak open as it crows to greet a new day. The rooster’s body as alternating rough and mirrored finishes to provide depth to the design, and in the lower-left field is the marking “Year of the Rooster.”
• 2018 Year of the Dog: The central design element on the obverse of the 2018 coin is that of a wild dog on the run. The lean figure of the dog includes long legs, a long, puffy tail, and includes its head arched up toward the sky as it howls. Below the dog is the inscription of “Year of the Dog.”
• 2019 Year of the Pig: For the third release in the Rwandan Lunar Ounce program, the design captures a sow lying on its side as it nurses three little piglets. Like other releases, the mother pig has broken glass elements that alternate between mirrored and rough finishes for visual depth. “Year of the Pig” is engraved in the lower-left field.
• 2020 Year of the Rat: In keeping with the previous designs, the four coin in the collection uses a stylized image of the rat with a shattered-glass effect in the background field. The coin depicts a happy-looking rat seated on its hind legs with its front arms held out and its long tail winding up in an S-shape behind its figure. The words “Year of the Rat” are engraved below with the Chinese symbol for the rat above.
• 2021 Year of the Ox: The fifth release marks the second year in the Zodiac Series. The powerful ox is shown in left-profile relief with long horns on its head and the Chinese symbol for the ox above its head.

Packaging for Rwandan Lunar Ounce silver bullion coins includes individual plastic or sheets of 10 coins. The silver proof coin is housed in a plastic capsule and comes with a Certificate of Authenticity. The gold bullion coin is also available in a protective capsule with display box and Certificate of Authenticity.

Rwandan Nautical Ounce Series

Introduced in 2017, the Rwandan Nautical Ounce Series commemorates the 525^th anniversary of the European discovery of the Americas. Though already occupied by countless indigenous tribes at the time, many there for thousands of years, the date is commemorated as a moment when cultures collided as European colonial powers found a new source of wealth in the North and South American continents.

The obverse side of all Rwandan Nautical Ounce coins share the same design elements. This face of the coin has a traditional Rwandan basket in the center with native plants on either side flanked by the battle shields of native warriors. Above the hut is the sun and above that is a banner that reads “Republika Y’u Rwanda.” Other inscriptions denote the backing of the Central Bank of Rwanda and the face value of the coins in Rwandan Francs (RWF).

Each of the silver coins released in the Rwandan Nautical Ounce Series come with the reverse design of a ship that made a major impact on the course of human history. From altering the course of a continent to opening up new trade routes around the world, these ships played a big part on the evolution of human society to the point it has reached today. Those designs include:

• 2017 Santa Maria: The Santa Maria was launched in 1460 in Galicia, a northwest region in Spain famed for ship-making. The ship was the flagship of Christopher Columbus on his voyage to the New World. Its name translates as Holy Mary of the Immaculate Conception.
• 2018 HMS Endeavour: The Endeavour was originally built as a commercial ship and later commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1768. The HMS Endeavour made a groundbreaking trip from Plymouth, England, to Tahiti, New Zealand, and eventually the coast of Australia.
• 2019 Victoria: In the third release, the Nautical Ounce Series showcases the Victoria. This ship was built by King Charles I of Spain and gifted to Ferdinand Magellan, along with four other ships, for his legendary circumnavigation of the globe. Out of his five-ship fleet, the Victoria was the only ship to complete the voyage.
• 2020 Mayflower: Widely celebrated in countless releases for various nations in 2020, the Mayflower is the famous ship that carried the Puritans from Holland and southern England to what would become the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. The Mayflower is associated with the colony that became the first established colony in the northeast and the Mayflower Compact, one of the first democratic documents in the Western world.

Details and Packaging of Rwandan Nautical Ounce Coins

All Rwandan Nautical Ounce coins feature 1 Troy oz of .999 pure silver and have no set mintage figures. However, the coins are struck for only a certain period of time, resulting in low mintage figures overall compared to other silver bullion coins. The Rwandan Nautical Ounce coins are available either in individual plastic wraps or sheets of 10 coins.

In addition to the silver bullion coins, the Rwandan Nautical Ounce coins are available as a proof specimen. The proof coins have limited mintage figures of only 1,000 silver coins and come with a protective capsule. The capsule and packaging include a numbered Certificate of Authenticity as well. In 2020, the Rwandan Nautical Ounce gained a new option for silver buyers. In addition to the BU and Proof versions, buyers can now find an antique silver version of the coin available with an extremely limited mintage of just 1,000 silver coins.

Rwandan Wildlife Series

Like other animal-inspired bullion and proof coin programs, the Rwandan Wildlife Series of silver coins celebrate the beauty of the animal kingdom. This particular series focuses on the native species of the African continent. The name of the series is slightly misleading as not all of these animals are native to Rwandan. Instead, each of the creatures featured in the Rwandan Wildlife Series is native to the African continent as a whole, with some of them residing within the borders of Rwandan.

The program was launched in 2008 by BH Mayer at the Kunstprageanstalt GmbH mint in Munich, Germany. The coins have similar features from one year to the next in the release schedule, while the obverse side of the coin design is the same from one year to the next.

Designs in the Rwandan Wildlife Series

In keeping with the ever-changing designs of the Rwandan Wildlife Series coins, a new animal is featured on the reverse each year. The series launched in 2008 with a Rwandan Gorilla Coin. The common image found on the reverse of all Rwandan Wildlife Series coins is the rugged outline of the African continent featured on the reverse, along with the engravings of the year of issue, the weight, metal content, and purity of the product, and the phrase “African Ounce.”

For the 2008 Rwandan Gorilla Coin, a male Silverback gorilla, female, and young gorilla are featured in the lower left sitting amongst the tall grass of a natural setting. All subsequent coins followed this similar design, and included releases such as those listed below:

• 2009 Rwandan Elephant Silver Coin: This issue featured a herd of elephants trekking across the savanna. Included in the image are a bull male elephant, a cow, and a calf.
• 2010 Rwandan Lion Silver Coin: The African lion is perhaps the second most popular creature native to the continent behind the elephant. On this coin, a pride of lions is featured with a male lion standing tall as the females lay down to rest with cubs by their side.
• 2011 Rwandan Zebra coin: On the obverse of this coin, an adult Zebra and a young Zebra are featured walking amongst the tall grass in search of food to graze upon.
• 2012 Rwandan Rhino Silver Coin: The rhino might be the most endangered species from the continent, making it an appropriate selection for the Rwandan Wildlife Series. On the reverse of this coin, a female adult rhino is featured alongside her young calf.
• 2013 Rwandan African Cheetah Coin: Cats are notoriously attentive, and the cheetah coin features a design that depicts two cheetahs sitting in an alert position as they watch for danger on the horizon.
• 2014 Rwandan Impala Silver Coin: The impala is a member of the antelope family and is found throughout the African continent. On the 2014 coin, a male and female impala are featured with their distinctive horns. Impala is the local Zulu term used for the antelope or gazelle, one of the fastest land mammals on the African continent.
• 2015 Rwandan Buffalo Silver Coin: On the obverse side of each coin is the image of a female African buffalo, with its calf standing nearby. Also included on this side is an outline of the African continent, with a rugged finish.
• 2016 Rwandan Meerkat Silver Coin: Meerkats are small creatures that inhabit the desert regions of southern Africa, across the nations of Botswana, Namibia, Angola, and South Africa. The meerkat is part of the mongoose family, and lives in clans or families of 20 animals on average, with some including as many as 50 in one family.
• 2017 Rwandan Hippo Silver Coin: Hippos are the third-largest land mammals in the world and the heaviest in their species, with males weighing upwards of 3,300 lbs when fully grown. In the lower-left field of this coin’s obverse side you’ll notice a mother hippo and its calf.
• 2018 Rwandan Giraffe Silver Coin: The giraffe is the tallest living terrestrial animal in the world today and is the largest ruminant. The species includes only the giraffe in its genus, with animals in the wild found only on the African continent. The obverse design includes the image of a mother and her calf walking across the open savanna.
• 2019 Rwandan Shoebill Silver Coin: On the reverse side of these coins is the image of two shoebill birds, also known as whaleheads. A similar species to the stork, the shoebill adults have grey coloration in their feathers, while juveniles typically have more brown to their feathers.
• 2020 Rwandan Bushbaby: The thirteenth design issued in the Rwandan Wildlife Series is that of the cuddly bushbaby. The bushbaby is known locally as nagapies and is a largely nocturnal animal.
• 2021 Rwandan Okapi: Known to many as the forest giraffe, the okapi is often confused for being related to the zebra courtesy of the stripes on the back haunches of the creature. In reality, it is more closely related to the giraffe.

All Rwandan Wildlife Series Silver Coins feature one ounce of .999 pure silver. The face value of the coins is listed in Rwandan Francs at a set value of 50 RWF. The obverse side of each coin bears the coat of arms for Rwandan, and features inscriptions in the native tongue of a local tribe that has resided in Rwandan for centuries.

Availability of Rwandan Wildlife Series Silver Coins

Rwandan Wildlife Series coins are available each year in extremely limited mintages. The BH Mayer mint facility kept original mintage low to protect the value of the products. As the popularity of the coin has gone up in recent years, demand has often outpaced the supply of these coins, making them even more valuable to both investors and collectors.

Each year the Rwandan Wildlife Series coins are struck in bullion and proof versions. The bullion coins are often easier to find as the proof coins are typically limited to a total mintage of around 1,000 coins for global distribution. Bullion coins are available in graded conditions from the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation and Professional Coin Grading Service, such as Brilliant Uncirculated and Mint State 70 condition.

History of the Mint

BH Mayer Mint, known also as just Mayer Mint GmbH Germany, was founded in 1871, making it one of the younger mints operating in the European powerhouse. Unlike the sovereign mints of Germany, Mayer Mint is a family-owned operation that has been controlled by five generations of the same family since its inception. The mint prides itself on producing coins and other products with the highest quality and finest designs.

Collect Rwandan Silver Bullion Coins from JM Bullion

We encourage customers with questions about silver coins for sale to contact JM Bullion at 800-276-6508 with questions. You can also connect with us online through our live chat and email address features.