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Chinese Silver

Chinese Silver

China has an ancient, well-documented history, and numismatics is no exception. Evidence of the world’s oldest mint has been discovered in China's Henan Province, dating back to sometime between 640 and 550 BC.

Continuing its numismatic history, first established as the Shanghai Mint in 1920, the China Mint operates under the supervision of the People’s Bank of China as the national mint for the country today. China has a long history of wars, relocations, divisions, and hardship, and yet, the China Mint still manages to strike quality bullion and proof, making Chinese silver coins among some of the most sought-after coins for numismatics and collectors worldwide.

Among their most prized coins, the China Mint has the beautifully designed Silver Panda series and their iconic Lunar-themed releases. Most fascinating of all, despite the minute differences between coin designs, the Chinese Mint does not always strike any sort of mint mark on its releases, making Chinese silver coins that much more intriguing.

Chinese Silver Panda Coins

As sacred as the American Silver Eagle Coin is to America, the Chinese Silver Panda Coin is the crowning jewel of the China Mint. This silver Chinese coin was first minted in 1983, and in 2016, the Mint transitioned the Panda Series over to the metric system, making their standard denomination 30-gram coins rather than 1-oz. Depending on the year the coin is released, each Chinese Silver Panda is struck in 99.9% pure silver, holding a 10 Yuan legal tender.

As an annual bullion release, the Chinese Silver Panda series typically sees demand and anticipation every year from collectors.

Which Chinese Coins Are Silver?

The China Mint prides itself on creating a variety of Chinese silver coins and medals – from the Silver Panda design and Chinese Silver Lunar Coin series to the Mint’s Moon Festival Panda® series that pays tribute to the Chinese Moon Festival.

Silver Panda Coin Designs

The Temple of Heaven is always portrayed on the obverse of each silver coin within this series. However, each new design on the reverse always features a new rendition of the native Chinese bear, minus a few exceptions. For example, a 2017 China Silver Panda is going to vary from the 2018 Silver Panda and so on and so forth. Collecting this highly regarded series results in a vast collection of immortalized silver art pieces that date back over 35 years.

In 2019, the China Mint started a series in a series which will feature the lifecycle of a giant panda from cub to adult on the reverse of the coin. This narrative will come to an end in 2028 after ten one-year-only designs that center on a growing panda.

China Silver Panda Coin Designs

China Silver Panda Coin Designs

Chinese Silver Lunar Coins

In 1981, the Chinese Mint first began this commemorative series to honor the tradition of the 12 zodiac animals in the Chinese Lunar Calendar. Since the release of the first series, the Mint has released a total of four lunar series. The newest cycle began in 2020 to feature the clever Rat, and due to the diversity of designs that come from each coin within these lunar coins, some collectors use China Mint lunar-themed releases as the basis of their silver Chinese coin collection.

Buying Chinese Silver Coins From govmint.com

govmint.com is a coin authority both nationally and internationally, setting the highest standards for quality, accuracy, and assurance. With a variety of silver coins from across the globe, we make it easy to stay up to date with the latest additions to collections and silver coin series.