Chinese Pandas: The Year of the "Pandagram"

February is Chinese New Year month and nearly everyone knows that 2016 is the Year of the Monkey. For collectors of Panda coins, 2016 is also the year of the Pandagram, the year that the series goes metric. The weights of all 2016 Panda coins are in grams, not ounces. So far, the transition to metric weights has gone smoothly. There is strong demand for all the denominations and the initial supply of the 1 and 3 gram coins was quickly depleted. Coins graded MS 70 by NGC are especially sought after. Most collectors I know want to own some, or all of the new coins.

There is tremendous interest in two new proof gold Pandas that haven't yet been publicly released. These are the 800 Yuan, 50 gm and the 1500 Yuan, 100 gm Pandas. Their mintages will be much lower than their BU one ounce gold counterparts; only 20,000 of the proof 800 Yuan and 10,000 for the 1,500 Yuan. That compares to one million BU 500 Yuan coins.

The first larger than one ounce gold Panda was struck in 1984. In 2016 there are two new large size gold Pandas: an 800 Yuan that tilts the scales at 50 grams and a 1,500 Yuan that weighs 100 grams.

Large size proof Pandas (more than an ounce) have a long history in the series. The first one was a 1984 1,000 Yuan 12 oz. gold coin. (12 oz. is one pound in Troy ounces). It had a mintage of 250 and sold out nearly immediately. The artwork was by famed Shanghai Mint artist Mr. Chen Jian. He has remarked that the pose is almost a mirror image of the 1982 Panda that he also designed. To date, the 1984 1,000 Yuan gold Pandas are unknown in the highest grades. Besides the small quantity struck, the original packaging tended to cause hairlines on the coins. The plastic pouch also contains PVC, a substance harmful to coins.

China Gold Coin, the branch of the central bank that handles precious metal coins, does not sell directly to the public (with one minor exception). Instead it uses a system of distributors to sell its coins at both the wholesale and retail levels. The 1984 1,000 Yuan gold Panda was initially distributed solely by Panda America, one of the four original Panda coin distributors. By 1986, when the next 1,000 Yuan gold Panda was minted, the other three primary distributors—Taisei Japan, Taisei Singapore and M.T.B. (Manfred, Tordella, Brooks in New York)—all wanted allocations of the coin, too. So the 1986 mintage came in at 2,550, ten times as many coins as in 1984.

Demand for the 1986 1,000 Yuan gold Panda was healthy. The price of the coins immediately jumped to a premium above their release price. In 1987 there was not only a 12 oz. gold Panda, but also a 5 oz. minted. These sold well, too, and were again struck in 1988. By 1989, though, buyer fatigue was setting in. Not only did the coin market need to absorb thousands of 12 oz. and 5 oz. gold Panda coins, but nine different 1 oz. gold Panda show commemoratives had also been released in 1987 and 1988.

It was not until 1990 that another 12 oz. gold Panda was struck. The mintage was reduced to 500, but even this proved unsustainable in the recession economy of the time. The final 12 oz. gold Panda made its appearance in 1995. The official mintage is 99, but the actual quantity was lower.

In 1997, a 1 kg. gold proof Panda was released. It was the first large size metric weight Panda. Since then every year except 1998 has had a 1 kg gold proof Panda as part of its program. Official mintages have increased to 500 per year. This year, it will be joined by two other large gold Pandas weighed in grams. So 2016 is not only the Year of the Monkey, but the Year of the "Pandagrams".

Peter Anthony is an expert on Chinese modern coins with a particular focus on Panda coins. He is an analyst for the NGC Chinese Modern Coin Price Guide as well as a consultant on Chinese modern coins.