After so many years without knowing the actual mintages of gold panda coins, Bank of China  recently released  the actual mintages of all BU gold panda coins minted between 1982 and 2006.  In a  promotion booklet for the 25th anniversary  gold coin set issued in February, 2007,  the Bank of China published the actual mintages of all BU gold pandas since 1982. Since this actual mintage data were not published in the official China Mint website and not known to general public, I am writing this guide to share the mintage data with all panda collectors. The actual mintages of most pandas  are significantly lower than the original planned mintage. For example, 1998 1/2 oz has a mintage of 4,168, which is even lower than most proof gold pandas, while the mintage of 1995 1 oz is 17,412 which is less than 50% of the original planned mintage (35,000). If we consider the fact that there are two versions  (large date and small date) between 1995 and 1998, and three versions of 1999 (small date, large date with 1 underlined, and large date with 1 without underlined ), the mintages for each version between 1995 and 1999 are extremely low. 1998 1/10 oz coin has a mintage of 8,502 which is the lowest of 1/10 oz series. Since this date has two different versions, and it is also known that 1/10 oz gold panda is the favorable coin size  used for the jewelry industry,  the availability of mint condition 1998 1/10 oz coin for each version will be extremely limited. 

For comparison purpose, the lowest mintage of 1/10 oz BU gold American eagles is 159,500 (1988),  1/4 oz is 36,100 (1991) ,  1/2 oz is 24,100 (1991), and 1 oz is 143,100 (2001). 

This guide is for educational purpose and I do not claim copyright. If you want to link to your auction or website, your are quite welcome to do so.

Mintage of BU gold panda 1982-2006

Date             1 oz           1/2 oz            1/4 oz           1/10 oz           1/20 oz

1982           13,532       13,391           42,243          77,598              0

1983           25,363       28,596           43,827          82,013             75,454

1984           25,183       20,057           35,970          86,404             77,869

1985           55,539       62,675           89,044         143,062          210,175

1986         107,132       48,618           42,229           65,596            79,194

1987         156,178       97,076           97,358         134,598          133,088

1988         289,055     220,443         142,634         213,653          468,683

1989         115,187     120,588          221,688          89,058          268,738

1990           53,898       35,091            31,148        216,546          348,246

1991           36,367       32,717            54,548          81,792          206,254

1992           41,120       26,495            72,537        116,999          216,305

1993           40,449       31,254            80,006          86,318          158,364

1994           24,438       16,788            20,388          55,182          133,226

1995           17,412       11,749            13,710          45,007            97,910

1996           22,009       13,849            17,589          57,203          145,347

1997           30,457       15,483            21,909          46,628            54,853

1998           20,507         4,168            13,009            8,502            27,483

1999           32,439        12,482           18,013           25,501           37,171

2000           29,011        20,811           24,811           44,511           41,837

2001           41,411        33,215           85,010         150,000         200,000

2002           28,345         28,514          19,205           36,092           74,601

2003           36,300         25,000          28,000           47,500         117,000

2004           55,000         42,000          41,000           56,000         101,000

2005           50,300         35,410          40,000           59,400           89,500

2006         115,600         25,600          28,500           43,100           62,000

Note 1: There are two version of 1987, 1987-Y and 1987-S. The  mintage given in Krause World Coins for Y and S is reasonably close to the combined mintage mentioned in the above table.

Date            1 oz            1/2 oz            1/4 oz             1/10 oz           1/20 oz

1987-S     84,000          78,000            73,000           99,000            99,000

1987-Y     47,000          17,000            31,000           37,000            39,000  

Note 2: There are two versions (small and large date) of gold pandas between 1995 and 1998 and three versions of 1999.

Note 3: 2001 mintage covers 2001 and 2001-D. The original planned mintage is given below:

Date           1 oz             1/2 oz             1/4 oz            1/10 oz           1/20 oz

2001       100,000          25,000           30,000           50,000             100,000

2001-D     50,000          75,000           70,000         100,000             100,000

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