How much is a Gold Panda worth?
Specification
| Gross weight | 30 g |
|---|---|
| Fineness | 999.0 (99.90%) |
| Fine gold content | 29.97 g |
| Fine gold, troy oz | 0.96452 |
| Diameter | 32 mm |
| Mint | China Gold Coin Corporation |
| Country | China |
| Face value | CNY 500 |
| First issued | 1982 |
About this coin
The one major bullion coin that is NOT an ounce. China switched the Panda to metric sizes in 2016, so the modern coin is 30 grams - about 0.9645 troy ounces, roughly 3.5% less gold than a one-ounce coin. Pricing one as an ounce is a costly mistake. The design also changes every year, which gives it a collector premium the others do not have.
The coin that changes its face every year
Since 1982 the China Mint has done what no other major mint dares: redesign its flagship coin annually. A new panda every year - cubs, bamboo, mothers and twins - which is why Pandas are collected by date the way stamps are, and why a year you cannot choose still matters. The one exception proves the habit: 2002 repeated the 2001 design, collectors objected loudly, and the annual change resumed and has never stopped since.
The 2016 weight change that still catches sellers
In 2016 China switched the series from troy ounces to round metric weights. A 2015-or-earlier "one ounce" Panda holds 31.103 grams of gold; a 2016-or-later coin of the same size class holds exactly 30 grams - about 3.5% less, at identical .999 fineness. The coins look alike. Check the year before you price one, because a buyer certainly will, and the difference at today's prices is well over a hundred dollars.
Pandas ship sealed in the Mint's plastic, and like all pure-gold coins they show handling. The sealed coin with a visible date is the version every buyer wants.
How this size compares
| Fine gold | 30 g |
|---|---|
| In troy ounces | 0.96452 ozt |
| In pennyweights | 19.29 dwt |
| Equal to | 4.1 gold sovereigns |
| Bars per kilo | 33.33 of these make one kilo of gold |
Questions people ask
- How much is a Gold Panda worth today?
- Its gold content is worth $3,979.02 at the current spot price of $4,125.39 per troy ounce. That is the melt value - it contains 0.96452 troy ounces of fine gold. A dealer will pay under this figure when buying and charge over it when selling. With Pandas the first question is which weight standard your coin was struck under.
- How much does a Gold Panda weigh?
- 30 grams gross at 999.0 fineness, which is 29.97 grams of actual gold. The gross weight is what your scale reads; the fine weight is what it is worth.
- Who makes the Gold Panda and is it legal tender?
- It is struck by the China Gold Coin Corporation in China, first issued in 1982. It carries a face value of CNY 500, which is symbolic - the gold in it is worth many times that.
- Does my Panda contain 30 grams or a full troy ounce?
- Check the year. 2015 and earlier large Pandas were struck at one troy ounce - 31.103 grams. From 2016 the series went metric and the same-class coin holds exactly 30 grams. This page prices the current 30-gram standard; an older ounce coin is worth about 3.7% more gold.
- Why does the Panda design change every year?
- Deliberate policy since 1982 - it keeps the series collectible by date, not just held by weight. The single repeat (2002 reusing 2001) drew enough collector protest that the annual redesign has been uninterrupted since.
- How current is this valuation?
- It is calculated live from the spot price, currently $4,125.39 per troy ounce from swissquote, read at 18:45 UTC. Nothing on this page is a cached daily figure.