2012 Chinese Panda Silver Coins Released

China Gold Coin Incorporation and the Shenzhen Guobao Mint — both branches of the People’s Bank of China — have released three commemorative 2012 Chinese Panda Silver Coins. The coins are each composed of .999 fine silver and have reverse designs featuring a mother panda and her cub.

The three coins are all legal tender of the People’s Republic of China and have their purity, weight, and content guaranteed by the government. Their release continues an almost thirty-year old tradition of striking panda silver coins which began in 1983.

Panda Coin Designs and Specifications

Shown on the the reverse of the 2012 Chinese Panda Silver Coins are the aforementioned design of a mother panda and her cub. The two are shown in a seated position with a wall of bamboo shoots behind them. Incorporated into the design is the face value of the strike with the coin’s weight and fineness shown beneath.

On the obverse of each coin, the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests (The Temple of Heaven) of Beijing is depicted. Obverse inscriptions include the Chinese characters for People’s Republic of China and the year.

Issued as part of the series is a one ounce silver coin, a 5 ounce silver coin and a 1 kilogram silver coin. The specifications and mintages of those strikes are offered below:

• 10 Yuan One Ounce Silver Panda Coin – 40mm diameter – 8,000,000 maximum mintage
• 50 Yuan Five ounce Silver Panda Coin – 70mm diameter – 50,000 maximum mintage
• 300 Yuan One Kilogram Silver Panda Coin – 100mm diameter – 500 maximum mintage

The maximum mintage of 8,000,000 listed for the one ounce Panda shows a significant increase over the 2011 version which is believed to have had a final mintage in the 6,000,000 coin range. It should be noted, however, that the initial mintage listed for that 2011 strike was only 3,000,000 but was doubled later in the year owing to intense demand.

Silver Pandas have been struck and released by branches of the People’s Bank of China since 1983. They followed the release of similar Gold Panda Coins which debuted the year before and have been released for 2012 as well. Together, both series are among the most popular issues of precious metal coins released around the world.

Since the inaugural releases, Panda silver coins have appeared annually with the exception of 1986 and 1988. The reverse designs featuring the pandas have changed each year except for in 2001 and 2002 which showcased the same design.

The new releases are sold exclusively through China Gold Coin Incorporation and its network of distributors.