US rolls out New Year 'Lucky Money'

To celebrate the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year, the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) released the newest addition to its Lucky Money Collection: Year of the Pig 2019.

The Year of the Pig begins on Feb 5, and is the 12th Chinese zodiac sign in the 12-year cycle. It is noted for good luck, abundance and wealth.

According to the BEP website, Year of the Pig 2019 is exquisitely designed with decorative Chinese symbolism and is packaged in a symbolic red folder with embossed gold foil.

The product features an uncirculated, $1 Federal Reserve note with a serial number beginning with "8888", as the number eight is considered the luckiest number in China because it sounds like the word for "wealth".

The Year of the Pig 2019 symbolizes the character traits of loyalty and honesty. The price is $5.95, and 108,888 are available for sale.

The Year of the Pig 2019 went on sale on Dec 18 online and offline.

"For us, the Lucky Money every year is to recognize the contribution of the Chinese to the American culture, and we understand it is a tradition to give new money in the new year, and we want to enable them to do that, and this enables us to learn a little bit of their culture as well," Leonard Olijar, director of the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing, said at a news conference in Washington on Dec 17.

Selling Chinese New Year products is not something new for the US government.

As the nation's sole producer of US paper currency, the BEP has been designing and producing "Lucky Money" for Chinese Lunar New Year since the Year of the Dragon in 2000.

Olijia said the Lucky Money series has been one of the bureau's most successful cultural products and "it's extremely well received".

Last year, the products sold out the first week they were released.

Contact the writer at xiaohong@chinadailyusa.com