Topic: 1995 half ounce panda variety

[NumiKat]

Well, others may already know of this, but here's a variety of the 1995 half ounce Shanghai silver panda I found when going through my collection that seems pretty interesting. Notice that in the regular version, the tree branch between the panda's legs is almost straight, but in the variant, the branch seems bent, almost like it was reworked. Also, the two leaf tips are behind the branch in the regular version but they are in front of the branch in the variant.

From what I've seen on Ebay and a quick scan of pictures, the variety seems substantialy more rare than the regular version. Although, I don't know exactly how much rarer. Maybe someone else has seen this and can shed some light

[poconopenn]

Welcome to the forum.

Sorry to tell you, the coin is a fake in a resealed pouch.

[NumiKat]

Thanks for the welcome, Poconopenn, it's good to be part of this forum.

Like others here, I respect your knowledge and views greatly, but actually I think this coin is real. Apart from the resealed packaging, what makes you think it's a fake?

[NumiKat]

It looks like NGC has certified specimens of the 1995 half ounce Shanghai "large date" variety. Check out this EBay auction:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/280874901209

Also, I found the following specimen on the NGC certification site.

Certification Number 2759267-003

Notice that in both cases, the tree branch is bent, the panda's tummy is fatter and lower than normal, and the two leaf tips near the bottom overlay the branch.

So, unless NGC made a mistake on two separate occasions, this seems to be a genuine coin.

Is it just my thinking, or is this a fairly important variety among the pandas? It seems like a bona fide design change, not just a broken die or frosting error. What do the resident experts here think?   :001_huh:

[Dragons_Are_Silly]

One mor:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&hash=item5649904fb1&item=370601381809&nma=true&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&rt=nc&si=8e2EXYzs%252FIsTwvAChrddFhREr9w%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc#ht_500wt_689

[Dragons_Are_Silly]

Also

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1995-CHINA-PANDA-5-FIVE-YUAN-999-SILVER-1-2-oz-Ag-Round-/200764449482?pt=Bullion_US&hash=item2ebe7e62ca#ht_500wt_922

[davidt3251]

NGC looks to be all over the place

if Numikat's post is a Large Date

then this cant be a Large Date too
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1995-1-2-OZ-5-YN-SILVER-PANDA-CHINA-NGC-MS69-LARGE-DATE-999-FINE-PROOF-LIKE-/360461934074?pt=US_World_Coins&hash=item53ed349dfa

[Dragons_Are_Silly]

Ngc wrong.    that one small date

[poconopenn]

IMO, there are two versions of large date, both minted by Shangahi as shown in the pictures posted by Numikat (leaf tips behind the branch and in front of the branch.). However, the coin in the second picture posted by Numikat, IMO, is questionable; there are too many three dimensional details are missing.

Attached are pictures of genuine two versions of Shanghai Mint large date. The version of leaf tips behind the branch might be also minted by Shenzhen as trial run using the same die as Shanghai Mint.

NGC coin (leaf tips in front of the branch) picture was taken from:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&hash=item5649904fb1&item=370601381809&nma=true&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&rt=nc&si=8e2EXYzs%252FIsTwvAChrddFhREr9w%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc#ht_500wt_689

PCGS coin (leaf tips behind the branch) picture was taken from:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1995-CHINA-PANDA-5-FIVE-YUAN-999-SILVER-1-2oz-COIN-PCGS-MS69-/150673482920?pt=US_World_Coins&hash=item2314d6e4a8

[NumiKat]

Interesting. I personally haven't seen this coin in Shenzhen packaging before. Do you happen to have a close-up picture of your Shenzhen specimen and a picture of the other side? Maybe we can spot some differences between the Shanghai and Shenzhen versions.

[PandaCollector]

Hi,

There are three varieties of 1995 Small Date 1/2 oz. and two of Large date that will be in the books. I need to compare your photos to what I have already found. Thanks!

Best wishes,
Peter