30 gram Chinese Silver Panda BU (2017)
Description
Face Value : 10 Yuan
Purity : 99.9 %; 30 grams
Dimensions : 40 mm X 2.98 mm
The Chinese Silver Panda 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 these are minted in different sizes and denominations, ranging from 0.5 troy oz. to 1 kilogram. The coin is now 30 grams, and not 31.103 or 1 troy ounce.
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 gm. of .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 but not limited to: Shenzhen, Shanghai and Shenyang. 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, temple, etc.–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. Obverse: Depiction of the Temple of Heaven in the center with Chinese characters on top saying “中華人民共和國” meaning 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.
Reverse: Different portraits of panda that changes every year (except for 2001 and 2002, which share the same design).