Chinese Silver Pandas

bigjarofwasps · April 23, 2020

I've been collecting coins for a number of years now and if I'm honest silver panda's are something that I've previously overlooked. I wonder if perhaps I'm missing out on something. I've done a little digging into them and have discovered some rather interesting facts out about them, that I thought might be of interest. If anyone has anything else to add, please feel from to do so, but to get the ball rolling............

2020 is only the second year that panda's have been struck from each of the three mints these being Shenzhen, Shanghai and Shenyang. None of these mints strike there panda's with any mint marks, but previously it has been possible to identify which mint them came from by little differences such as the sizing of the date year, is one such way I've become aware of.

Not all mints produce the same amounts, previous examples have been reflected as follows - Shenzhen – 60% Shenyang – 25% Shanghai – 15%. The three mints are identified with letters Shenzhen (G), Shanghai (S) and Shenyang (Y). It is possible to buy panda's whereby the mint they were struck from has been identified.

Ever year has a different panda on it.

As with medal collecting it's always great if you can put a story or uncover some history behind a medal. Coin collecting sometimes can be no different, whether it's a shipwreck recovery or a coin from a long lost horde. Even a modern a coin may have a tale to tell. Here's what I have discovered about my very first panda...................

It's a 2020 example (pictured below).

Although I am unaware of any way of ascertaining which mint it was struck in, I strongly suspect it was minted in Shenzhen, because this is the nearest mint to Hong Kong (only 17 miles away) and produces the lions share of pandas if the information above is a gauge to go by.

I have been able to confirm that because my example has been graded by PCGS as a first day of issue coin, in order to qualify under this criteria it would have had to have been submitted to the PCGS Hong Kong Submission Center before 10 am on Thursday 31st October 2019.

Where it went from there again, I'll never know, but what I can confirm is that on the 22nd April 2020 it was in Guangzhou China (80 miles from Hong Kong). So I strongly suspect that from the day of minting which would have been sometime in late 2019. So from October 2019 until April 2020 it didn't leave China, until I purchased it and had it shipped over the the UK. On the 23rd April it was at the regional distribution centre at Dongguan, on the 29th April it left China arriving at Heathrow on the 30th April, finally being delivered on the 4th May having made a journey of 5,571 miles.

The world has changed so dramatically during this short period, this little coin was minted before coronavirus was identified, it remained in China whilst it ravaged across the country, Guangzhou certainly wasn't spared and now the virus has spread across the whole world!!!!!

Edited May 17, 2020 by bigjarofwasps

bigjarofwasps · April 30, 2020

This link might be handy for anyone interested in silver pandas............

https://www.ngccoin.com/price-guide/chinese-modern-coin-prices.aspx?lang=en-US&ChineseCategoryID=1&subcat=silver-panda-coin-prices

bigjarofwasps · May 17, 2020

Another Panda I've recently added to my collection has an equally interesting story behind it..........

Minted in Shenzhen for the 2019 World Stamp Exhibition in Wuhan.

The Wuhan World Stamp Exhibition took place between 11th - 17th June 2019, held at the Wuhan International Expo Center.

In February 2020, the center was used as a makeshift hospital during the Covid 19 pandemic.

I bought this Panda on the 25th April 2020 from a coin dealer in the Antique Market Commercial building, Shanghai, China. From here it went via the regional distribution centre in Hangzhou Zhejang arriving there on the 28th April, it finally left China 7th May 2020, arrived in UK 9th May, being delivered on the 15th May, a trip of some 5728 miles!!