Peter Anthony: The image of a grown Panda sitting on its haunches adorns the 1993 25 Yuan 1/4 oz. Small Date gold Panda. It was struck at the Shenyang Mint. Despite a large reported mintage this is a surprisingly hard-to-find coin today. One attrition factor was the melting pot as there were few collectors for this size Panda when it was new.

While the Large and Small Dates of some 1993 denominations look almost alike this isn’t true of the 25 Yuan. The Small Date is distinctly smaller than the Large Date.

Another characteristic of the 1993 Small Dates is that they were well-struck. These are not quite as nice as the Large Date but still often produce very high grades. Unconserved 1993 Pandas often have red spots. The place most likely to show wear or rub is the Panda’s head and torso. The fields are also areas for concern. On the Temple of Heaven side the fields, as usual, are susceptible to marks.

The 1993 25 Yuan Small Date gold Panda is part of three NGC Registry sets: "Gold 1/4 Ounce Panda, 1983-Date, Mint State," "Gold 1/4 Ounce Panda, 1983-Date, Mint State (Incl. Varieties)" and "Gold 1/4 Ounce Panda, 1983-Date, Mint State and Proof."