The Chinese Gold Panda () is a series of

gold bullion coins Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

issued by the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. The Official Mint of the

introduced the panda gold bullion coins in 1982. The panda design changes every year (with a single exception) and the Gold Panda coins come in different sizes and denominations, ranging from (and larger ones as well). There is also a Silver Panda series issued with the same designs as the Gold Panda coins.

History

China issued its first gold coins picturing a panda design in 1982, in sizes of of 99.9 fine gold. Beginning in 1983 another size was added – . Larger panda coins were issued in some years, weighing . 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 A mint or breath mint is a food item often consumed as an after-meal refreshment or before business and social engagements to improve breath odor. Mints are commonly believed to soothe the stomach given their association with natural byproducts ...

that produce these coins, including but not limited to:

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

Shenyang Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a major China, Chinese sub-provincial city and the List of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Lia ...

and

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

. 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 change. The official Chinese panda coins should not be confused with Chinese medals that also use a panda.

Description

Obverse: Depiction of the

Temple of Heaven The Temple of Heaven () is a complex of imperial religious buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperor of China, Emperors of the Ming dynasty, Ming and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasties for ...

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. If the issue is a commemorative issue, the theme will be marked here also. Reverse: Different portraits of

panda The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is sometimes use ...

that changes every year (except for 2001 and 2002, which share the same design). The official distributor for the Gold and Silver Panda coins in China is the China Gold Coin Corporation (CGCC); in the United States, Panda America has been an official distributor since 1982.

Denominations

The Gold Pandas are

legal tender Legal tender is a form of money that courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything which when offered ("tendered") in pa ...

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 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.

Revised weights

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.

References

*{{numis cite SCWC, date=2005

External links