The Bank of China issues its 2021 Panda, the third in a new 10 year journey for the title star

Rapidly approaching its 40th anniversary, the iconic Chinese Panda coin is back in bullion and proof form yet again. A popular series that predated much of the new interest in annually changing designs, it has grown in size and quality ever since, becoming an eagerly awaited entrant in the numismatic calendar.

For the 2019 release, the Bank of China introduced a new ten-year ‘story’ for the coin designs which would follow the panda from birth, through its life. This is the third and shows a rapidly growing panda cub learning the tricks of survival from its mother. The BoC describes it as “showing the beautiful mood of harmony between man and nature”, which is kind of comical given the country haas systematically destroyed its environment, an attitude it seems keen to export. The coin is actually one of our favourite designs in the series to date, incorporating a level of intricacy that is a bit above the more simplistic designs of late, and we suspect the multi-panda designs are more popular with collectors.

An expansive range of sizes, but those familiar with previous years will see nothing unusual here. Everything from sizes to mintages are as last year. The same selection of formats as usual. Gold bullion variants come in 1g, 3g, 8g, 15g and 30g weights. Gold proof in 50g, 100g, 150g and 1000g (1kg) weights. The silver bullion coin is available only in the controversial 30g size, with 150g and 1kg in the limited proof format.

Struck by the Shenzhen Guobao Mint, the Shenyang Mint, and the Shanghai Mint, the range is officially released tomorrow, but you can pre-order from dealers now, including some of our sponsors.