Chinese Gold Panda

There is also a Silver Panda series issued with the same designs as the Gold Panda coins.

• Denomination — Gold Panda • Edge — Reeded • Composition — 99.9% fine gold (Au) • Country — People's Republic of China • Obverse Design — Temple of Heaven • Obverse Design Date — 1982 • Reverse Design — Different illustrations of giant pandas. • Reverse Design Date — Yearly • Years Of Minting — 1982–present

China issued its first gold coins picturing a panda design in 1982, in sizes of 1, of 99.9 fine gold. Beginning in 1983 another size was added – 1/20 ozt. Larger panda coins were issued in some years, weighing 5 and. These popular coins are issued in prooflike brilliant uncirculated quality with a different design each year. A freeze of the design was announced with the 2001 issues—and thus the 2002 pandas were identical to 2001. But collectors spoke up in behalf of annual changes, and China reverted to their original policy. There are several mints that produce these coins, including but not limited to: Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang and Shenzhen. Unlike coins made by U.S. branch mints that carry mintmarks to identify their origin, Chinese mints usually do not employ them. In certain years there are minor variations—in the size of the date, style of the temple, etc.—in the coin design that allow the originating mint to be determined. Certain years are also designed by different designers. The design of the obverse changes less frequently than the design of the panda side. The official Chinese panda coins should not be confused with Chinese medals that also use a panda.

The Gold Pandas are legal tender in the People's Republic of China and are currently issued in face value denominations of 500, 200, 100, 50 and 20 yuan; from 1982 through 2000 they were issued in denominations of 100, 50, 25, and 10 yuan with the 5 yuan added in 1983. Through 2015, these corresponded with 1, of gold, respectively. An exception was 1991, when 1-gram Gold Pandas were minted, issued in the denomination of 3 yuan. 2015 was the only year that the Gold Panda did not have any denomination imprinted on the coin. • Face value (1982-2000) — Face value (2001-2015) — Nominal gold weight — Fine weight — Total weight — Diameter — Thickness • 100 yuan — 500 yuan — 1 troy ounce — 31.103 g — 32.05 mm — 2.70 mm • 50 yuan — 200 yuan — 1/2 troy ounce — 15.5515 g — 27.00 mm — 1.85 mm • 25 yuan — 100 yuan — 1/4 troy ounce — 7.7758 g — 21.95 mm — 1.53 mm • 10 yuan — 50 yuan — 1/10 troy ounce — 3.1103 g — 17.95 mm — 1.05 mm • 5 yuan — 20 yuan — 1/20 troy ounce — 1.5552 g — 13.92 mm — 0.83 mm

Starting in 2016, the weight system of troy ounces was replaced by the metric system of grams, the standard system of weights used in the People's Republic of China. This change may affect bullion buyers, who calculate their holdings in ounces, more than coin collectors who collect by denomination. • Face value — Nominal gold weight — Fine weight — Total weight — Diameter — Thickness • 500 yuan — 0.9645 troy ounce — 30 g — 32 mm — 2.70 mm • 200 yuan — 0.4823 troy ounce — 15 g — 27 mm — 1.85 mm • 100 yuan — 0.2572 troy ounce — 8 g — 22 mm — 1.53 mm • 50 yuan — 0.0965 troy ounce — 3 g — 18 mm — 1.05 mm • 10 yuan — 0.0322 troy ounce — 1 g — 10 mm — 0.83 mm

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