Peter Anthony:The 2013 gold fan-shaped Lunar coin weighs 1/3 Troy oz. and is the second gold coin in a twelve-year cycle. The fan’s mintage is a moderate 30,000. When the cycle is complete in 2023 a set of all twelve years of fan coins will form a circle when the coins are placed edge-to-edge. This circle echoes the moon’s shape and has neither beginning nor end just like the eternal cycle of years.

The horizontal format makes an excellent frame for the coin’s image. A sinuous snake rises up against a mirrored field and a second coiled snake. This design wasn't very popular with collectors. It often happens that the least popular new coins become keys later on because so few were bought originally. In any case the gold 2013 Snake fan coin grades well with Proof-69s slightly outnumbering Proof-70s