Year of the Horse coin sets go on sale, crowds swarm Taiwan Bank

Taiwan Bank yesterday released the "Jiawu Year of the Horse Zodiac Commemorative Coin Set." Although temperatures kept dropping, demand for the Year of the Horse set was very strong, drawing crowds to line up overnight to snap them up.

The "Jiawu Year of the Horse Zodiac Commemorative Coin Set," the same as in previous years, contains in each set one 1 troy ounce Year of the Horse silver coin (face value NT$100) and one each of the NT$50 and NT$20 coins. Each set sells for NT$1,800. This year the Central Bank prepared 120,000 sets and commissioned Taiwan Bank to sell them.

The Taiwan Bank head office was allocated 2,900 Year of the Horse sets yesterday. Zhu Zhongchu, manager of the business department, said Taiwan Bank handled the matter in the spirit of holding a happy celebration. To maintain order, in addition to planning the order of movement, numbered tickets were also issued, and buyers entered to purchase by presenting their numbered tickets.

He said that because the horse is an animal beloved by Chinese people, and because it carries many auspicious meanings such as "first to take the lead" and "success upon arrival," this year's sales were expected to be even better than in previous years.

Yesterday the queue stretched from the main gate in front of the Taiwan Bank head office to Baoqing Road, and all the way to Bo'ai Road. A woman surnamed Lin, who was first in line, said she had started lining up at noon on the 8th. She had already collected nearly ten zodiac commemorative coin sets and did not care whether there was room for appreciation in value.

Because each person was limited to one set per purchase, some people in line, after buying the first set, lined up again to buy a second and third set.

Huang Yikai, a 22-year-old student this year, lined up overnight with two like-minded friends, carrying stools. He said that to keep out the cold, hats, scarves, thermal clothing, and hand warmers were all essentials; he had started buying coin sets in the Year of the Dragon and planned to collect all twelve zodiac sets as a keepsake.

Another woman, bringing her cute little grandson Liyuan, took turns lining up with her husband. Liyuan said in a tender voice, "I like horses the most," melting away the morning chill.