Modern Chinese Varieties: 1995 Silver 5 Yuan Panda

This month we will look at the 1995 Silver 5 Yuan Panda, which has four distinct varieties: Large Date - Short Leaves, Large Date - Long Leaves, Small Date - Frosted Gap and Small Date - Mirrored Gap.

The Large Date 1995 Silver 5 Yuan Pandas have a large date on the obverse and "frosted fur" immediately below the panda's head on the reverse. The two Large Date varieties are distinguished by the size of the leaves below the long under the panda's back leg: the first variety has "short leaves" while the second has "long leaves".

The Large Date coin on the left exhibits “short leaves” (Photo #1), while the Large Date coin on the right exhibits “long leaves” (Photo #2).

1995 Silver 5Y Large Date Panda short leaves (left) and long leaves (right). The top arrow points to the frosted fur immediately below the panda's head. Click images to enlarge.

Both of these varieties share a common Large Date obverse (pictured below) (Photo #3).

1995 Silver 5Y Panda Large Date Obverse Click images to enlarge.

The second group of 1995 Silver 5 Yuan Panda varieties have a Small Date on the obverse and "mirrored fur" immediately below the panda's head on the reverse. The difference is that one variety has a "frosted gap", while the second has a "mirrored gap".

The two photos below show the 1995 Small Date Silver 5 Yuan Panda varieties. The coin on the left features a “frosted gap” (Photo #4), while the one on the right exhibits a “mirrored gap” (Photo #5).

1995 Silver 5Y Small Date Panda frosted gap (left) and mirrored gap (right). The top arrow shows the mirrored fur immediately below the panda's head. Click images to enlarge.

Both of these varieties share a common Small Date obverse (pictured below) (Photo #6).

1995 Silver 5Y Panda Small Date Obverse Click images to enlarge.

Look for another interesting variety to be featured next month.