The Chinese Silver Panda (simplified Chinese: 熊猫银币; traditional Chinese: 熊貓銀幣; pinyin: xióng māo yín bì) is a series of silver bullion coins issued by the People's Republic of China. The design of the panda is changed every year and minted in different sizes and denominations, ranging from 0.5 troy oz. to 1 kilogram.
There is also a Gold Panda series issued featuring the same designs as the Silver Panda coins.
The first Silver Panda coins—issued in 1983, 1984 and 1985—were proof quality, with a precious metal content of 27 grams of 0.900 fine silver and a diameter of 38.6 mm. Mintages were only 10,000 for each year. No Silver Pandas were issued in 1986. The 1987 Silver Panda coins were minted in proof quality from 1 troy oz. of sterling (.925 fine) silver, with a diameter of 40 mm. There are several mints that produced Silver Panda coins over the years, including: Shanghai, Shenyang and Shenzhen. Unlike coins made by US mints that carry mintmarks to distinguish their origin, Chinese mints generally do not carry mintmarks. In certain years there are minor variations in the coin design—such as the size of the date, and temple. That allow the originating mint to be determined. An example is 1996 where different mints produced coins with minor variations in the font size of the date on the obverse side of the coins. In 2015 both the Gold and Silver Panda coins no longer list the metal fineness and weight much to the dismay of collectors.
Depiction of the Temple of Heaven in the center with Chinese characters on top saying "中华人民共和国" meaning the People's Republic of China and the bottom the year of issue. If the issue is a commemorative issue, the theme will be marked here also.
Different portraits of panda that changes every year (except for 2001 and 2002, which share the same design).
There are many varieties on the types of coins issued as follows:
- Uncirculated
- Proof
- Gold plated / gilded (either side or both)
- Colored (only obverse side known)
- Privy marked for different distribution such as 2001 D (for domestic market)
- Privy marked for commemorative issue, which can also be gold plated
The official distributor in China for the Silver and Gold Panda coins is the China Gold Coin Corporation (CGCC), and since 1982 Panda America has been an official distributor in the United States.