Peter Anthony: The 1989 5 Yuan 1/20 oz. gold Large 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. The unusual design didn’t stop the smaller size coins like the 5 Yuan from being used in jewelry and many were.

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

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 5 Yuan Large Date gold Panda is part of three NGC Registry sets: "Gold 1/20 Ounce Panda, 1983-Date, Mint State," "Gold 1/20 Ounce Panda, 1983-Date, Mint State (Incl. Varieties)" and "Gold 1/20 Ounce Panda, 1983-Date, Mint State and Proof."