The Chinese Panda gold coins were first produced in 1982 but due to the higher premiums charged by the Chinese mint they cost a lot more than equivalent gold coins from other countries. Lots of countries now produce a one ounce bullion gold coin and the Chinese version is the Panda. Due to the Krugerrand being the first one ounce gold bullion coins to be produced everyone compares their coins with Krugerrands.

When Chinese gold pandas were first introduced they were very successful and were in great demand from coin collectors, people buying coins just for gold value were not interested due to their high price panda mania continued until about 1987 and some coins were selling for over £2000, however the demand for pandas has decreased in recent years, making it hard to get hold of coins minted in certain years. These years make the value of coins produced a lot more than other gold coins of similar weight and size.

Chinese Pandas are available in the same sizes and weights as other gold bullion coins in 1/20, 1/101/4, ½ and1 ounce sizes. They are all made from 24ct gold or .999 fineness and have face values on them in Yauns. One side of the coin has The Temple of Heaven in Beijing, Chinese characters saying Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo which means Peoples Republic of China and the year. If the theme is a commemorative issue this will also be marked on this side. The other side of the coin has different portraits of Pandas depending on the year, except 2001/2002 which shared the same design.

These Chinese panda gold coins are a great addition to any coin collection but if you are just collecting gold coins for their gold content then Chinese Pandas may be a bit too expensive. However due to Pandas becoming harder to buy or find there market price has increased making the panda one of the rare gold coins to collect.