Chinese Silver Panda: End of the Troy Ounce and 100 Euro Prices

Silver Panda: From 27 grams in 1983 to 30 grams

The first Chinese Silver Panda did not weigh a troy ounce. It weighed 27 grams. This was no oversight: it was the Spanish ounce, the measure that, according to one forum participant, dictated global trade since the 17th century. Four decades later, the series breaks the reference again, and according to information a forum user cites from goldseiten, it announces pieces of 30 grams, now outside the imperial system. In between lies a collection of some 50 coins that has earned a fruta for being expensive, complicated, and difficult to complete.

How much does a Silver Panda weigh and what is engraved on it

The early issues are the rarest. Between 1983 and 1985, each piece came with 27 grams of 900 fine silver, 38.6 millimeters in diameter, and a mintage of 10,000 units. There was no Panda in 1986. Nor in 1988. The years that do exist also do not trinc a uniform specification: some sources place the jump to 925 fine silver in 1987 and to 999 in 1989, alongside corrections that place 999 as early as 1987. In any case, 40 millimeters and 31.22 grams per piece since then.

The face value never changed: 10 yuan. The obverse is also fixed, with the Temple of Heaven, the name of the People's Republic in Chinese, and the year. The only known exception is aesthetic: 2001 and 2002 share the same design. From then on, each annual issue is distinct.

Three mints for the same year and variants that almost no one catalogs

Until 1996, two factories struck coins: Shanghai and Shenyang. Later, Shenzhen Guobao joined. None leaves its mark on the coin, but differences are detectable: font size of the year, typeface, leaves, and branches of different dimensions. Collectors group these as panda varieties: small, large, or microscopic dates for the same year.

The plastic also gives it away. There are capsules with a seal and others without it, and this forces one to look at the packaging as much as the piece. The practical effect is inconvenient for the buyer: if several versions of the same year exist, the actual mintage of each type is much lower than the official one, and completing the series becomes more expensive without anyone having raised the price on purpose.

Are Pandas the most counterfeited bullion coin?

This is the point where the most discussion occurs. One side argues that the fame is inflated and that deception is not the exclusive heritage of the Panda: copies plated with American Eagles and Canadian Maples circulate, with the same suspicious appearance. And a market nuance is added: much of the fraud does not originate from the coin itself, but from buying through channels of dubious trust in search of a bargain.

On the other side is the argument of incentive. The greater the premium over the metal, the more tempting it is to imitate. And the Panda carries a high premium, so attention to detail is mandatory. The guides that circulate compare fake and genuine pieces from 1999 and 2000 and point out specific things: the space between the 10 and the edge, the one separating the Ag from the reed, the hair of the front paw, the distance between the levels of the temple, the texture of the field, and the spacing of the year's figures. The repeated recommendation is common sense: if it weighs 30 grams, something is wrong.

What is the price of a Panda and why does it rise so much

The premium over the metal turns this series into something else. Upon its release to the market, the first units of a recent annual issue were placed at 50 euros and sold out, while a German store asked for 55.86 euros for the same piece. The equilibrium price then hovered around 38 euros, and those who bought the previous year's coins at 31.70 euros were left with the feeling that they had made the right choice.

The jump comes with time. Paying 150 euros for a coin five years old stings even for someone with half a collection behind them. Now the problem is double: silver has risen, and several issues have halved the mintage, so new pieces trade in the range of 100 euros. Some enthusiasts have cut entire series, like the Mexican Libertads.

The end of the ounce and special issues

The news that would close a cycle is the change in weight. According to the information a forum user cites from goldseiten, the new Panda will weigh 30 grams and would abandon the troy ounce of 31.1 grams, the international measure. The series thus reaches its 40th anniversary in 2022, with subsequent editions in 2024, 2025, and 2026. In parallel, the Chinese Mint publishes gold-plated, colored, privately marked, and high-relief versions, official but short-run, which purists do not consider part of the collection.

There remains a plan that some consider: buying each year a graded MS70 first-strike piece, at about 60 dollars per unit, with a view to selling it at retirement. It sounds orderly. The doubt is whether the premium paid for a capsule and a label will hold for four decades. Does anyone truly believe that certified silver will perform better than raw silver?