Peter Anthony: The 1999 25 Yuan 1/4 oz. gold Large Date Panda Serif 1 is a very important coin. 1999 gold Panda coins were caught in the wake of the Asian financial crisis. Demand for gold Pandas plummeted and many were melted. As a consequence mintages that year were limited and few are available for collectors today.

1999 is a notable year for another reason; it is the only year in which all B.U. Pandas were struck in three different mints. There are three major varieties of the 1999 gold Pandas: Small Date, Large Date Plain 1 and Large Date Serif 1. The 1999 25 Yuan gold Large Date Serif 1 is a Shenzhen Guobao Mint coin. It is not hard to tell apart from the Small Date; the numerals are much larger. The Large Date Serif 1 also has a distinct serif, or bar, on the bottom of the numeral 1 of the date. The total mintage for all 1999 25 Yuan varieties is 18,103. It’s clear that far fewer than that exist in B.U. condition today. The Large Date Serif 1 variety is the rarest of the three varieties and possibly the rarest of all major 1/4 oz. Panda varieties.

About four in five of the 1999 25 Yuan Large Date Plain 1 Pandas graded achieve the MS-69 or MS-70 level. Red spots are a commonplace problem on unconserved 1999 gold Pandas. The head, body and rock are the places most likely to show wear or rub.

The 1999 25 Yuan Large Date Serif 1 gold Panda is part of three NGC Registry sets: "Gold 1/4 Ounce Panda, 1983-Date, Mint State," "Gold 1/4 Ounce Panda, 1983-Date, Mint State (Incl. Varieties)" and "Gold 1/4 Ounce Panda, 1983-Date, Mint State and Proof."