Wells Fargo 2015 Ltd Edition Chinese New Year of the Ram Coin Bank Goat Sheep

Wells Fargo Bank 2015 Chinese New Year of the Ram Ceramic Coin Bank Goat Sheep

This is a limited edition promotional bank from the Wells Fargo Bank Chinese New Year Series celebrating 2015, the Year of the Ram awarded to customers who opened a new consumer checking account.  The bank is clean and unused.  The bank measures 7 inches tall x 7 inches wide x 4.5 inches deep.

The promotion was very brief, running from February 2 through March 6 of 2015.  The Goat (yáng) is the eighth earthly branch symbol of the 12-year cycle of animals that appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar.  The sign is also referred to as the Ram or Sheep sign, since the Chinese word yáng is more accurately translated as Caprinae, a subfamily which includes both sheep and goats.  The Chinese commonly regard sheep as an auspicious animal, and the Year of the sheep, therefore, heralds a year of promise and prosperity.  "Yáng" (羊) is a component of another written Chinese character "xiang" (祥), which means auspiciousness, and the two were interchangeable in ancient Chinese.  It is also a part of the character "shan" (善), which counts kindness and benevolence as among its meanings.

Each year, Wells Fargo joins the Asian American community in celebrating the New Year by sponsoring the San Francisco Lunar New Year parade and creating a new Lunar New Year calendar.  The Chinese lunar calendar affixes dates based on cycles of the moon and features 12 years named after animals, each with their own traits. Shuyi Wang of Wells Fargo says the Lunar New Year represents hope for good fortune and a prosperous year.

Wells Fargo has served the Asian American community since 1863 when several Northern California Wells Fargo locations provided interpretation and mail services as well as bilingual business directories to Chinese Americans. The company’s first Lunar New Year calendar was created in 1949.