The Chinese Gold Panda is one of the most popular gold coins among investors from around the world. The Panda gold bullion coins are minted and issued by the official mint of China and are available in different denominations. As they are made of fine gold and are available in different weights and denominations, the Gold Pandas are a great option for those who want to invest in the gold bullion market. Besides that, these Chinese gold coins also have a numismatic value, which makes them popular with coin collectors too.
The first Chinese Gold Panda was introduced by the Chinese official mint in the year 1982. Made of .999 gold, these gold coins are issued every year with varying panda designs.
Gold Panda Design
The Obverse side of the Chinese Gold Panda has the Temple of Heaven, along with the Chinese characters “Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo”, representing People’s Republic of China. The year of issue is also mentioned at the bottom on this side of the coin. The reverse side of the coin has a panda design. The design on the obverse side remains the same, except for a slight variation, in every issue. But the reverse side, which features the Chinese panda, keeps changing every year. The panda design remained the same in the years 2001 and 2002, when a design freeze was announced by the mint. However, the mint had changed the design again from 2003, to ensure it remained popular even with coin collectors.
These gold coins are produced by mints in different parts of China, although the coins may not always have a distinguishing mark that identifies their mint.
Gold Panda Value
The gold panda is made of 99.99% pure gold and is valued according to the price of gold in the markets, at the time of issue. However, as the coins come in varying panda designs every year, the coin is greatly valued as a collectible too. This is especially the case with the earlier versions of the Gold Pandas, which were issued in really small quantities, adding to their numismatic value. Although the number of coins minted has significantly increased in the latest issues, it is still limited.
Gold Panda Denominations
The first series of the Gold Pandas, offered by the People’s Republic of China in 1982, came in sizes of 1/10 oz. (3.1103g), 1/4 oz. (7.7758g), 1/2 oz. (15.5515g) and 1 troy ounce. The next year, in 1983, the much smaller 1/20 troy oz. (1.5552g) gold Panda was introduced and in the later years, the larger 5 oz and 12 oz Gold Pandas were released. Given the wide range of sizes and the denominations of these coins, many investors find them affordable and easy to store.
The coins also have different face values depending on their sizes. The face value is 25 Yuan for the 1/20 oz coins, 50 Yuan for 1/10 oz coins, 100 Yuan for ¼ oz coins, 200 Yuan for ½ oz coins and 500 Yuan for the 1 oz gold panda coin. The nominal value is mentioned on Gold Pandas from all years, except in 1982 when they were first issued.
Purchase Chinese Gold Pandas Online
The China Gold Coin Corporation is the official distributor of the Chinese Gold Pandas across the globe, while the Panda America is the official distributor in the U.S. These Chinese gold coins are sold by several gold bullion retailers, and a number of online gold bullion sites today. In fact, there are a number of reputed and reliable sites on the internet that sell the Chinese gold panda coins. Here are a few things you should remember to safely buy Chinese Gold Panda coins from these sites.
- As you won’t be able to verify the genuineness of the gold coin online, you should consider buying Chinese Gold Pandas through a reputed online bullion dealer. Spend time to learn about the dealer through reviews and check if they are recognized before you buy
- Like any other gold coin, the premium charged on the Chinese Gold Pandas is very low. When you purchase this coin online, be sure to compare the premium charged by different sellers and choose one that is reasonable
- Take time to go through the terms and conditions, especially the shipping and the return policies, of the dealer. This plays an important role when you want to return the coin or exchange it for any valid reason.
- If you are assured about the reliability of the online dealer, you should consider purchasing the Chinese Pandas in larger quantities or denominations to save on the premium and also the shipping charges.