Chinese Silver Panda

The Chinese Silver Panda is a series of silver bullion coins issued by the People’s Republic of China. The design of the panda is changed every year, and these are minted in different sizes and denominations, ranging from 0.5 troy oz. to 1 kilogram.

There is also a Gold Panda series issued featuring the same designs as the silver Panda coins.

History

The first silver Panda coins—issued in 1983, 1984 and 1985—were Proof quality, with a precious metal content of 27 gm. of .900 fine silver, and a diameter of 38.6 mm. Mintages were only 10,000 for each year. No silver Pandas were issued in 1986. The 1987 silver Panda coins were minted in Proof quality from 1 troy oz. of sterling (.925 fine) silver, with a diameter of 40 mm. There are several mints that produced silver Panda coins over the years, including but not limited to: Shenzhen, Shanghai and Shenyang. 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 variations in the font size of the date on the obverse side of the coins.

Obverse

Depiction of the Temple of Heaven in the center with Chinese characters on top saying “中華人民共和國” meaning People’s Republic of China and the bottom the year of issue. If the issue is a commemorative issue, the theme will be marked here also.

Reverse

Different portraits of panda that changes every year (except for 2001 and 2002, which share the same design).

There are many varieties on the types of coins issued as follows:

1. Uncirculated
2. Proof
3. Gold Plated / Gilded (either side or both)
4. Colored (only obverse side known)
5. Privy marked for different distribution such as 2001 D (for domestic market)
6. Privy marked for commemorative issue, which can also be gold plated

 The official distributor in China for the silver and gold Panda coins is the China Gold Coin Corporation (CGCC), and since 1982 Panda America has been an official distributor in the United States.

In 2006, a flood of counterfeit 1-ounce silver pandas came onto the market, and were frequently encountered on eBay through sellers located in China, both BU and proof versions. Many of these were easily distinguishable from the real thing by the lack of a denomination, which all authentic legal tender silver Panda coins have. Although these counterfeits did not contain a significant amount of silver, they were marked with ’1 oz Ag .999′. Also, some do include the denomination, and are difficult to distinguish from a real one without weighing them, or comparing them to a known genuine coin.

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Reference: 

Krause, Chester L. and Clifford Mishler. 2005 Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1901–Present (32nd ed. ed.). Krause Publications.