Sunday, May 27, 2007

Rare Silver Proof Pandas on Fire

One of the greatest sleepers in the Panda series appears to be taking off. While most of the silver Pandas issued have had mintages in the 200,000+ range, there are several little known issues with mintages from 8000 to 25000 peices. These are the 1983-1985 BU silver coins and the 1989-1996 Silver Proofs.


Mintages:
  • 1983: 10,000
  • 1984: 10,000
  • 1985: 10,000
  • 1989-P: 25,000
  • 1990-P: 20,000
  • 1991-P: 20,000
  • 1992-P: 20,000
  • 1993-P: 20,000
  • 1994-P: 15,000
  • 1995: 10,000
  • 1996: 8,000
The 1983-1985 BU coins continue to increase in price steadily: currently in the $300-$500 Range when you can find them.
Since the BU silver Pandas often have a very proof-like finish, the proof versions have been often overlooked. In fact, the P mintmark may be all that distinguishes them in some years.
The 1995 and 1996 issues, however, have no P mark. The obverse panda design on the proofs is different from the BU coins. I have been amazed at the low prices of these rare coins, until recently. Over the last 8 months the prices have soared!





1995 Obverse:




1996 Obverse:



The 1989-P through 1994-P issues have also started to rise, moving from $30-50 and approaching $75-$100+.
Keep an eye on my Ebay store for rare silver and gold panda coins.