Chinese Silver Panda

The Chinese Silver Panda (Chinese: 熊猫银币; pinyin: xióngmāo yínbì) 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 minted in different sizes and denominations, ranging from 0.5 troy oz. to 1 kilogram. Starting in 2016, Pandas switched to metric sizes. The 1 troy ounce coin was reduced to 30 grams, while the 5 troy ounce coin was reduced to 150 grams. There is also a Gold Panda series issued featuring the same designs as the Silver Panda coins.

Silver Panda

China
Value	10 Yuan (face value)
Mass	30 g (.965 troy oz)
Diameter	40 mm (1.52 in)
Thickness	<=3 mm (0.118 in)
Edge	Reeded slanted left
Composition	99.9% Ag
Years of minting	1983-present
Obverse
Design	The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests located in the Temple of Heaven complex
Reverse
Design	2018 version Panda
Design date	2017

History

The first Silver Panda coins—issued 10 yuan Panda bullion in 1983, 1984 and 1985—were proof quality, with a precious metal content of 27 grams of 0.900 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: Shanghai, Shenyang, and Shenzhen. Unlike coins made by US and German 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, and temple that allows 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. In 2015, the Gold and Silver Panda coins were not labeled with metal fineness and weight. This information returned in 2016 when the 1 troy ounce coin was replaced by the 30-gram coin (one troy ounce is approximately 31.1 grams).^[1]

The official distributor in China for the Silver and Gold Panda coins is the China Gold Coin Incorporation (CGCI).

As of 2020, the highest-priced coin is a perfect 1983 proof panda worth $16,430. The highest-priced, non-proof coin is a perfect large-date 1991 panda worth $3,100.^[2]

Specifications

Specifications[3]
Weight	Face value	Diameter	Thickness
1 kilogram	300 yuan	100 mm	13 mm
12 troy oz	100 yuan		14 mm
5 troy oz	50 yuan	70 mm	6 mm
150 grams
1 troy ounce	10 yuan	40 mm
30 grams
1⁄2 troy oz	5 yuan	33 mm	2.2 mm
1⁄4 troy oz	3 yuan	25 mm

Thickness

Taking the 1-ounce silver coin as an example, the authentic coin has a thickness of only about 2.6 millimeters, while the thickness of the counterfeit coin exceeds 3 millimeters. If they are of the same thickness, the counterfeit coin will not weigh 31.1 grams.^[4]

Reeding

The diagonal reeding was first introduced in the 2001 D (Domestic) Gold Panda Coins. This feature was introduced to other Chinese Panda Coins in 2002.^[5]

Design

The center of the obverse is a depiction of The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, located in the Temple of Heaven complex in Beijing. The Hall was built between 1406 and 1420. Chinese characters on top say "中华人民共和国", meaning the 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. The reverse shows portraits of the giant panda that changes every year (except for 2001 and 2002, which share the same design).

Minting history

The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests

A 1998 silver panda with an example of a gilded privy mark for the China Aviation Expo.

There are many varieties of types of coins issued:

1. Bulk Uncirculated
2. Proof
3. Gilding (either side, or both)
4. Colored (only obverse side known)
5. Privy marked for a commemorative issue
6. Extra wording of a special event. For example, where the coins will be sold, such as a coin show or to commemorate an event or place.

Year	Type	Description[2][6]	Mintage[2]
1983	Proof	Both proof and frosted proof	10,000
1984
1985
1986			0
1987			30,000
1988			0
1989	Proof		8,000
	Bulk		255,000
1990	Proof		20,000
	Bulk	Both large and small dates	200,000
1991	Proof		20,000
	Bulk	Both large and small dates	100,000
1992	Proof		20,000
	Bulk	Both large and small dates	100,000
1993	Proof		20,000
	Bulk	Both large and small dates	120,000
1994	Proof		20,000
	Bulk	Both large and small dates	120,000
1995	Proof		10,000
	Bulk	Both large and small dates	200,000
1996	Proof	Both narrow and wide bottom	16,000
	Bulk	Large, small and micro dates	120,000
		Beijing Stamp and Coin Expo	25,000
1997	Proof	Colorized	100,000
	Bulk		50,000
		Large and small dates
		Year of Tourism
		Chongqing Municipality
		Beijing Stamp and Coin Expo	30,000
1998	Proof	Colorized	100,000
	Bulk	Large, small and micro dates	250,000
		China Aviation Expo	50,000
		Beijing Coin Expo	30,000
1999	Proof	Colorized	100,000
	Bulk		70,000
		Beijing Stamp and Coin Expo	40,000
2000		Both frosted and mirrored finishes	70,000
		Guangzhou Stamp and Coin Expo	40,000
2001			250,000
		Large and small "D". Domestic only sales
2002			500,000
2003		Both frosted and satin finishes	600,000
2004
		50th Anniversary of China Construction Bank	170,000
		20th Anniversary of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China	120,000
		Beijing Stamp and Coin Expo	30,000
2005			600,000
		Foundation of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China	100,000
		10th Anniversary Bank of Shanghai	50,000
		Beijing Stamp and Coin Expo	30,000
2006			600,000
		10th Anniversary China Minsheng Bank	70,000
		10th Anniversary Bank of Beijing	50,000
		Shenyang Horticulture Expo	30,000
		10th Anniversary Jinan City Bank	20,000
		Beijing Stamp and Coin Expo	30,000
2007			600,000
		Xi'an City Bank	100,000
		20th Anniversary of China CITIC Bank
2008			600,000
		100th Anniversary of Beijing Banknote	100,000
		100th Anniversary of Bank of Communications
2009			600,000
		30th Anniversary of Chinese modern precious metal coins	300,000
		Founding of Agricultural Bank of China	100,000
		ChiNext Inauguration	30,000
2010			800,000
		Anniversary of listing of Agricultural Bank of China	70,000
		20th Anniversary of opening China's capital markets	40,000
		90th Anniversary Shanghai Mint	20,000
2011			6,000,000
		Running of Beijing-Shanghai High Speed Railway	30,000
		60th Anniv. of National Committee of China's Financial Union
		10th Anniversary of Shanghai Gold Exchange
		30th Anniv. of the Founding of Xiamen Special Economic Zone	20,000
		60th Anniversary of the Rural Credit Cooperatives
		60th Anniversary of the Aviation Industry
		World Horticultural Expo 2011 in Xian
2012			8,000,000
		100th Anniversary of Bank of China	260,000
		20th Anniversary of the founding of Huaxia Bank	50,000
		10th Anniversary of Listing of China Merchants Bank	30,000
2013			8,000,000
		25th Anniversary of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank	80,000
		30th Anniversary of China Everbright Bank
		10th Anniversary of China-Asean Expo
2014			8,000,000
		60th Anniversary of China Construction Bank	420,000
		20th Anniv. of the Agricultural Development Bank of China	85,000
		Qingdao World Horticulture Expo	40,000
		Singapur International Coin Fair	2,014
2015			8,000,000
		20th Anniversary of Bank of Shanghai	60,000
		The Year of China in South Africa	10,000
2016			8,000,000
		20th Anniversary of Bank of Beijing	50,000
		120th Anniversary of Shenyang Mint	30,000
		60th Anniversary of All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese	20,000
2017		10,000,000
	China International Collection Expo	50,000
2018		10,000,000
	30th Anniversary of China Ping An Insurance Group	50,000
	30th Anniversary of Industrial Bank	30,000
2019		10,000,000
	China International Import Expo	20,000
	World Stamp Exhibition
	40th Anniversary of State Administration of Foreign Exchange	10,000

See also

• Numismatics portal
• Money portal

• Bullion
• Bullion coin
• Inflation hedge
• Silver as an investment