What Are Gold Panda Coins?

The Gold Panda Coinage is perhaps one of the best known coins. It features an adorably cute panda imprinted on one side of the coinage. It was first printed by the Chinese government in 1982 and like all gold coin prices have changed over the years.

When it was first released the coinage was issued in different values of gold. There was a one tenth, a quarter, a half, and a full Troy ounce available. The next year another bullion was released at a one twentieth of a Troy ounce. As time progressed more, larger bullions were added at five Troy ounces and ten Troy ounces.

Design

Although each of the Panda Coinage bears a panda, they are all different, with one exception. The print of 2002 and 2003 are the same when the Chinese government put a hold on further designs. This was lifted later, due to pressure from avid collectors who wished to continue their collections.

Adorable But Expensive

There are many different sets of coinage in the world. Some simply hold their value based on the mineral content of the coinage itself. Some however, have a value placed upon them that exceeds their physical worth. Panda gold coin prices tend to be much higher than normal gold coin prices. This is due to the fact that the number produced was never very high compared with other coinage used in other countries. In the first batch of one Troy ounce bullions, fewer than sixteen thousand were released. This number didn't increase much over the subsequent years until modern times when it has become higher, almost 150,000. This is still a relatively small amount and Panda gold coin prices are still one of the highest in the world.

The Collector's Value

The actual physical mineral value of the Panda is lower than the price they often sell for. An original one half Troy ounce panda is only worth per gold coin prices $270. The true value of this specific coinage however, lies in the limited quantity produced. Collector's desirability has driven the gold coin prices up to over $800. That is almost four times the physical mineral worth!

If you have managed to collect the entire set of one of the coinage; for example the one-half Troy ounce between 1982 and 2005, the value at public auction would be in excess of $9000. Considering that the physical worth of these coins will only amount to roughly $2000, it is an impressive mark-up through desirability.

An Investment Opportunity

Although they make an excellent collection just for that reason alone, The Panda coinage also makes financial sense as an investment to safeguard money for future. There are never going to be more of the already produced range and because of the attractive design they appeal to a large number of people. It is for this reason that the gold coin prices hold and are a safer bet than many of the other coinages.