Chinese 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.

The first Silver Panda coins—issued 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. From 1989 to 2015, the coins were minted using 1 troy Oz of .999 FS.

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 mint marks to distinguish their origin, Chinese mints generally do not carry mint marks. 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. The official distributor in China for the Silver and Gold Panda coins is the China Gold Coin Incorporation (CGCI).

Silver Bullion Mintage

Year	1 Oz	Year	1 Oz	Year	1 Oz	Year	1 Oz
1989	255,000	1999	70,000	2009	600,000	2019	10,000,000
1990	200,000	2000	70,000	2010	800,000	2020
1991	100,000	2001	500,000	2011	6,000,000	2021
1992	100,000	2002	500,000	2012	8,000,000	2022
1993	120,000	2003	600,000	2013	8,000,000	2023
1994	120,000	2004	600,000	2014	8,000,000	2024
1995	200,000	2005	600,000	2015	8,000,000	2025
1996	120,000	2006	600,000	2016	8,000,000	2026
1997	100,000	2007	600,000	2017	10,000,000	2027
1998	250,000	2008	600,000	2018	10,000,000	2028

Design

Obverse: The center of the obverse is a depiction of The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests located in the Temple of Heaven complex. The Hall was built between 1406 to 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.

Reverse: The reverse shows portraits of the giant panda that changes every year (except for 2001 and 2002, which share the same design).

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