Peter Anthony: The 1995 10 Yuan 1/10 oz. Small Date gold Panda is a product of the Shenyang Mint. 1995 was an interesting year for Pandas. Although announced mintages were reasonable it soon became clear that Pandas from this year were difficult to come by. This was a time period when many other series of Chinese coins took over the spotlight and collectors, or even hoarders, for this coin were few. So it ‘s no surprise that the 1995 10 Yuan remains a hard-to-find coin today. It is one of the key coins in the 1/10 oz. gold Panda series.

There are two major varieties of the 1995 gold Pandas: Large Date and Small Date. The two versions are not hard to tell apart; the numerals of the Small Date are clearly smaller than those of the Large Date. The 10 Yuan gold Small Dates are seen just about as often as the 10 Yuan Large Dates.

If they weren’t sacrificed for jewelry, or melted, most of the 1995 10 Yuan Small Dates garner high grades. In fact more than 75% of those graded are MS-69 or MS-70. Red spots are a common problem on unconserved 1995 gold Pandas of all denominations. As usual the place most likely to show wear or rub is the Panda’s head.

The 1995 10 Yuan Small Date gold Panda is part of three NGC Registry sets: "Gold 1/10 Ounce Panda, 1983-Date, Mint State," "Gold 1/10 Ounce Panda, 1983-Date, Mint State (Incl. Varieties)" and "Gold 1/10 Ounce Panda, 1983-Date, Mint State and Proof."