Peter Anthony: The 1988 12 oz. gold 1000 Yuan gold Panda is an impressive coin to see and hold, yet is often overlooked by collectors. The beautiful design is the work of Shanghai Mint artist Yu Min, who created the art for more Panda coins than anyone else. Part of the reason for collector’s indifference is that while 12 oz. gold Pandas were minted between 1984 and 1994 none were struck in 1985 and 1989. Consequently a date set will have two holes in the sequence of years.

Within the 12 oz. gold set the 1986-88 are considered more common than the 1984 or any of the dates between 1990 and 1994. This is due to the 1988’s official mintage of 3,000. It was recently reported, though, that the true mintage was 1,650. Another factor affecting the coin's population is that many have been lost to the melting pot over the years. This coin is definitely less common today than when it was released. Proof 69 coins make up about half of all 1988 1000 Yuan coins graded by NGC.