Large and Small Date varieties of the 2010 silver Pandas have turned up. Photos are posted at www.pandacollector.com. It's not clear yet if one or the other is particularly scarce—I'd be interested to learn what other people find. These are the first Panda date varieties since 1999—many older varieties have greatly increased in value. For instance, in April a rare 1/10 oz. B.U. gold Panda variety from the 1990's brought $1,036 on eBay and in May a 1/2 oz. B.U. gold Panda variety coin sold for $2,700. There are also several 1 oz. silver varieties that commonly bring $150-$300. This is a fun part of Panda coin collecting that most collectors don't know about yet. I hope you find the information useful. Best wishes, Peter A.
Those are nice, I've come across older ones. Is there any guarantee as far as metal purity/composition on Chinese Pandas? There are some issues with Chinese-produced "coins" as well as other items. Just check on eBay for coin copy, or ask McDonald's about their newest Shrek collectibles!
I've never seen or heard anything to suggest that genuine Pandas are not .999 fine gold or silver and the weight that they are marked with. The caveat is that they must be genuine. There are plenty of counterfeits on the market. The easiest ones to spot are Pandas that lack a denomination. With the rare exceptions of some Panda medals and the 1982 coins, any Panda that doesn't have a denomination is a copy. Panda coins should always weigh the amount they are marked, too. Any coin that is lighter than it should be is probably a fake. I've seen a photo of a counterfeit 2010 silver Panda from Hong Kong. The details of the fur look fairly crudely drawn which makes it pretty easy to spot if you are familiar with the real McCoy. You might compare any 2010 coin you are considering to the photo of a genuine Panda on my Pandacollector.com site. At this time, the bad coins don't appear to be common in the U.S. but its good to be vigilant. I would be happy to post more photos of both varieties of 2010 on the website if people think that would be useful. You can also be sure of getting a genuine Panda by dealing with a company like PandaAmerica, an "official" importer of the coins for the Chinese Mint or from many other established Panda coin dealers.
