Peter Anthony: The 1999 50 Yuan 1/2 oz. gold Small Date Panda is another key coin. 1999 gold Panda coins were caught in the wake of the Asian financial crisis. Demand for gold Pandas plummeted and many were melted. As a consequence mintages that year were limited and few are available for collectors today. The 50 Yuan coins are also the scarcest denomination of 1999 B.U. gold Pandas.

1999 is a notable year for another reason; it is the only year in which all Pandas were struck in three different mints. There are three major varieties of the 1999 gold Pandas: Small Date, Large Date Plain 1 and Large Date Serif 1. The 1999 50 Yuan gold Small Date is a Shanghai Mint coin. It is not hard to tell apart from the others; the numerals of the Small Date are much smaller than those of both the Large Dates. The total mintage for all three 1999 50 Yuan varieties is 12,482. It’s clear that far fewer than that exist in B.U. condition today. The Small Date variety is considered scarce.

About two in three of the 1999 50 Yuan Small Date Pandas graded achieve the MS-69 level. Red spots are a commonplace problem on unconserved 1999 gold Pandas. The head, body and rock are the places most likely to show wear or rub.

The 1999 50 Yuan Small Date gold Panda is part of three NGC Registry sets: "Gold 1/2 Ounce Panda, 1983-Date, Mint State," "Gold 1/2 Ounce Panda, 1983-Date, Mint State (Incl. Varieties)" and "Gold 1/2 Ounce Panda, 1983-Date, Mint State and Proof."