Chinese Silver Panda

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Chinese Silver Panda is a series of silver bullion coins issued by the People's Republic of China. It changes its design every year and comes in different sizes, from 0.5 troy oz to 1 kilogram (?) with different denomination reflecting the weight. The purity of the coin is 99.90% silver and it has a weight of 31.105 gram.

Face Value	Nominal Silver Weight	Fine Weight	Total Weight	Diameter	Thickness
300 Yuan	1 kilogram	999.9775g
100 Yuan	12 Troy ounces	373.2360g
50 Yuan	5 Troy ounces	155.5000g
10 Yuan	2 Troy ounces	62.2g
10 Yuan	1 Troy ounce	31.1035g	31.22g	39.0mm
5 Yuan	½ Troy ounce
3 Yuan	¼ Troy ounce			25mm

The program was started early in the 1980s but in different weight standard early on. These early coins were not 1 troy oz silver. There are several mints that produce these coins, including but not limited to: Shenzhen, Shanghai and Shenyang. Sometimes the different mints can be distinguished from the size of the year on the obverse side of the coins. The coins' designs were made like this:

Obverse: Depiction of the Temple of Heaven in the center with Chinese characters on top saying "Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo" meaning People's Republic of China and the bottom the year of issue.

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

There are varieties on the types of coins issued, the most common being uncirculated and proof versions. On some years of issue, the bank also issue commemorative coins with privy marks or different combination of gold plating on either the obverse or reverse of the coin. There are no set rules on how many commemoratives can be issued in a year. The official distributor is China Gold Coin Corporation.

[edit] Minting History of One Ounce Silver Pandas

Year	Bulk Uncirculated Coins	Proof and Other Special Coins	% Silver	Total Weight	Silver Weight	Diameter
1983	0	10,000 (proof and frosted proof)	.900	27g	24.3g	38.6mm
1984	0	10,000 (proof)	.925	27g	24.975g	38.6mm
1985	0	10,000 (proof)	.900	27g	24.3g	38.6mm
1986	No silver pandas in 1986	No silver pandas in 1986	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
1987	0	31,000 (proof)	.999	31.1g		40mm (possibly 38.6mm)
1988	No silver pandas in 1988	No silver pandas in 1988	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
1989	250,000	25,000 (proof)	.999	31.1g		40mm
1990	200,000	20,000 (proof)	.999	31.1g		40mm
1991	100,000	20,000 (proof)	.999	31.1g		40mm
1992	100,000	5,202 (proof)	.999	31.1g		40mm
1993	120,000	?????	.999	31.1g		40mm
1994	120,000	20,000 (proof)	.999	31.1g		40mm
1995	?????	?????	.999	31.1g		40mm
1996	?????	?????	.999	31.1g		40mm
1997	50,000	80,000 (proof and proof with gold insert)	.999	31.22g		40mm
1998	?????	?????	.999	31.1g		40mm
1999	?????	?????	.999	31.1g		40mm
2000	?????	?????	.999	31.1g		40mm
2001	250,000	?????	.999	31.1g		40mm
2002	?????	?????	.999	31.1g		40mm
2003	?????	?????	.999	31.1g		40mm
2004	?????	?????	.999	31.1g		40mm
2005	?????	?????	.999	31.1g		40mm
2006	?????	?????	.999	31.1g		40mm
2007	?????	?????	.999	31.1g		40mm

There is also a Gold Panda series issued in the same design as the silver one.

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 almost all pandas have. Although these coins 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 real coin.

A random lot of 45 pieces purchased at a coin show, in the Denver area, in 2006 exhibit the dates 1989 through 2000. None have the numeric denomination, and all weigh between 25.6 and 27.8 grams. Purchased from a middle-aged man.

[edit] References

• Krause, Chester L. and Clifford Mishler (2004). 2005 Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1901-Present, 32nd ed., Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87349-794-5.