Peter Anthony: The 1989 100 Yuan 1 oz. gold Small Date B.U. Panda was part of the now-standard annual release of five B.U. gold Pandas by the China Mint. It has an unusual design. This is the only Panda with an abstract background; a grid pattern occupies the background space with not a bamboo leaf in sight. This was a new design direction for the series and it turned out to be a dead-end as it was never repeated.

There are two major varieties of the 1989 gold Pandas: Large Date and Small Date. The Small Date coins were struck at the Shanghai Mint and, as their variety name suggests, have a smaller size date than coins struck in Shenyang.

Like many other Panda designs the forehead of the 1989 bear is the area most susceptible to damage. Another bugaboo is red spots. These are very common on 1989 gold Pandas. Of the coins graded thus far the great majority are MS-69 or better. A relatively modest number of these coins have been graded so far. That is mostly due to the coins low premium above melt rather than its scarcity.

The 1989 100 Yuan gold Panda is part of three NGC Registry sets: "Gold 1 Ounce Panda, 1983-Date, Mint State," "Gold 1 Ounce Panda, 1983-Date, Mint State (Incl. Varieties)" and "Gold 1 Ounce Panda, 1983-Date, Mint State and Proof."