Peoples Republic Of China Silver Panda

Gold coins: The Chinese Gold Panda

The production start of the Gold Panda goes back to the year 1982. The gold coin is nowadays manufactured by several Chinese Mints in five different finenesses. The most important coin manufacturers include the Beijing Chinese Mint, the Shanghai, the Shenzhen and the Shangyang Mint. The Gold Panda´s first edition was released in sizes of 1/10, 1/4, 1/2, as well as 1 ounce. The production of a 1/20 ounce coin was added in 1983. In certain years special coin editions or proof sets were additionally issued. A coin of 1 gram was manufactured in 1991. In later years, coin versions of 5 ounces, 12 ounces or 1 kilogram were launched into the market. All Chinese Gold Pandas are genuine legal tender coins.

All Chinese Gold Pandas have a purity of 99.99 percent (.9999). Since the editions of the first minting years were limited, the Gold Panda is a very popular coin among global collectors. Thus, the Panda coin – in contrast to its international counterparts – is usually offered at a high premium to gold´s current spot price.

Each minting year, the Chinese gold coin features an altering design of the traditional panda bear with exception of the years 2001 and 2002, in which the motives were the same. However, coin collectors asked the Chinese authorities to design the Panda´s front side motive in different yearly versions again, which were given in as of the minting year 2003. On its left side the Panda´s front side shows the nominal value of each coin size. The respective gold purity is displayed at the coin´s top, which has been at 99.99 percent (.9999) since the introduction of the Chinese Panda. The only exception goes back to the coin´s first minting year in 1982, which does not feature any nominal value.

The reverse side of the Chinese Gold Panda shows the Temple of Heaven in the coin´s centre, a well known sight in the capital of Beijing. Since its initial edition, this coin motive has never been changed. Above the Temple of Heaven, "Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo" (translation: People´s Republic of China) is displayed in Chinese characters. At the coin´s bottom, the respective minting year is shown. During its production history, the Chinese Gold Panda´s reverse side has been redesigned twice so far. While Beijing´s Temple of Heaven has always remained the same, changes in the years 1992 and 2000 only concerned the design of the coin´s outer ring.

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. Unlike coins made by US mints that carry mintmarks to distinguish their origin, Chinese mints generally do not carry mintmarks. In certain years there are minor variations in the coin design—such as the size of the date, temple, etc.--that allow the originating mint to be determined. An example is 1996 where different mints produced coins with minor variation and s in the fontsize of the date on the obverse side of the coins.

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