Peter Anthony: By 1996 China was near to ending the 10 Yuan platinum series. The mintage was reduced from 5,000 in 1995 to 2,500 in 1996. Part of this was due to the Mint being extraordinarily busy with other coin series. That is reportedly why the Perth Mint in Australia was contracted to strike the 1996 10 Yuan platinum Panda. They are sometimes found sealed but it’s not certain if they were sealed by Perth, or by a later distributor. In any case, the pouches look nothing like those from any Chinese mint.

The mid-1990’s were a time of intense interest and speculation in platinum and the metal was popular for use in jewelry. Jewelers were a major market for the smallest Pandas like this one. That many of the coins were indeed used in pieces of jewelry is evidenced by the many coins today that show damage from mounting. There was also attrition from melting when platinum prices were high.

While the 1996 1/10 oz. platinum Panda isn’t rare it is scarce and is harder to find than the 1995. On average it grades well with more than half the coins graded so far rating a PF-69 or above. The 1996 10 Yuan platinum Panda is part of the NGC Registry set, “Platinum 1/10 Ounce Panda, 1993-1997, Mint State and Proof.”