1985 Chinese Historical Figures Silver Set

陳勝 . 吳廣
Chen Sheng & Wu Guang (Both died in 208 BC, Qin Dynasty)
Chen Sheng - Leader of Uprising against Qin Dynasty
Wu Guang - Military Captain 

老子
Lao Zi (580 - 500 BC, Zhou Dynasty)
Founder of Taoism

屈原
Qu Yuan (340 - 278 BC, Warring States Period)
Poet, Minister

孙武
Sun Wu (544 - 496 BC, Warring States Period)
Military Strategist

1993 Chinese Historical Figures Silver Set

李大钊
Li Da Zhao (29 Oct 1888 - 28 Apr 1927)
Chinese Intellectual, Co-Founder of Communist Party of China 

刘少奇
Liu Shao Qi (24 Nov 1898 - 12 Nov 1969)
Chairman of the People's Republic of China (1959 - 1968)

周恩来
Zhou En Lai (5 Mar 1898 - 8 Jan 1976)
Premier of the People's Republic of China (1949 - 1976)

朱德
Zhu De (1 Dec 1886 - 6 Jul 1976)

            Commander-in-Chief of the People's Liberation Army

Vice-Chairman of the Communist Party of China

2012 Singapore International Coin Fair 5oz Panda Medal

The 2012 Singapore International Coin Fair (SICF) Panda Medals are issued by China Great Wall Coins Investments Limited, minted by Shenzhen Guobao Mint and exclusively distributed by Panda America who is also the main organizer of the SICF.

Being the first Panda Medal since 1997 Munich International Coin Fair, the SICF Panda Medal offers 4 denominations of 99.9% fineness proof quality coins for collectors to choose from.

Gold
1/2 oz / 27 mm Diameter / Mintage: 2,500 / Issue Price: US$1,995
5 oz / 60 mm Diameter / Mintage: 99 / Issue Price: Unknown

Silver
1 oz / 40 mm Diameter / Mintage: 10,000 / Issue Price: US$175
5 oz / 70 mm Diameter / Mintage: 2,500 / Issue Price: US$495

Sale of the Panda Medals began as early as late February 2012 and delivery of the Medals was expected to be during the SICF for collectors who pre-ordered them. Based on QC stickers seen on the plastic vinyl sheet that sealed the 5 oz Silver Panda Medal, earliest QC was done on 28 February 2012. Unfortunately, the die broke around the 225th Medal, as announced by Panda America President, Mr. Peter Yeung. A second die had to be used to continue the production and hence resulted in another variety of the 5 oz Medal. 

Outer Box

Inner Case

Certificate of Authenticity

Double Sealed Medal in Case

2012 SICF 5 oz Panda Medal Obverse

2012 SICF 5 oz Panda Medal Reverse - depicting Sands Expo & Convention Center, Marina Bay Sands Singapore and the Great Wall of China

Varieties of the Medals created mixed emotions among collectors. Or perhaps the negative comments came from people who did not purchase the Medal. As one who has vested interest in the Medal, I was excited to find out whether I got the rarer 1st Die Variety. A fellow collector has taken some pictures to share the differences on each variety.

1st Die Variety
Source: mysilvercoins.blogspot.com

2nd Die Variety
Source: mysilvercoins.blogspot.com

Differences can be seen on the ears, nose and also the eyes. Collectors or buyers should not take the COA number as reference to whether it is 1st or 2nd Die Variety. Neither should they be taking reference from the QC date. They should look at the panda on the right of the Medal to judge for themselves. 

The 1st Die Variety would definitely fetch a higher selling given that it is less than 10% of the population. However, that would  depend on the performance of the SICF Medals themselves. Being the inaugural SICF Medal, the 2012 version would depend on whether there would be more of such medals to be issued during the next SICF. I would sure like to see the SICF Medals run for 10 consecutive years (1988 - 1997) like the Munich International Coin Expo Medals.

1989 Chinese Historical Figures Silver Set

Exterior of Box

Interior of Box

忽必烈
Kublai Khan (1215 - 1294) Yuan Dynasty
Emperor of China (1260 - 1294)
'10-Spear Version'

'7-Spear Version'

關漢卿
Guan Han Qing (1225 - 1302) Yuan Dynasty
Playwright and Poet

郭守敬
Guo Shou Jing (1231 - 1316) Yuan Dynasty
Astronomer, Hydraulic Engineer, Mathematician

黄道婆
Huang Dao Po (1245 - 1330) Yuan Dynasty
Developed weaving technology in early Chinese textile industry

2004 5 oz Silver Panda

The 2004 5 oz Silver Panda is the second year of issue for 5 oz Silver Panda coins starting from 2003. It started off with a simple case and the coin was double-sealed. 

Top of Box

Original Mint Packaging of Double-Sealed Coin with COA

Bottom of Box

Certificate of Authenticity 

Reverse

Obverse

Premiums of Key Date Silver Panda Coins - 1995, 1999 & 2000

I've identified 3 key years of the Silver Panda for analysis. 1995 Small Twig Micro, 1999 Serif, 2000 Frosty and 2000 Mirror. New collectors or collectors looking for good deals without overpaying would compare how much premium they are paying for a double-sealed coin over a coin in capsule, a graded MS69 over a coin in capsule, a graded MS69 over a double-sealed etc. There are some collectors who would also place a percentage premium based on whether it is MS69, 68 or 67.

With price data from US ebay transacted prices collected from Dec 2010 to Nov 2011, I could present some figures indicated how these coins could compare and how much premium has been paid. The most readily available data is actually that of the 2000 Frosty as it is the most heavily transacted amongst the key dates.

2000 Frosty

The average price transacted for a 2000 Frosty in capsule range between US$175 to US$340 while a double-sealed was between US$202 to US$391. Percentage premium of double-sealed over capsule is between 15.5% to 39.5%

% premium of MS69 / Capsule: 53 - 118%

% premium of MS68 / Capsule: 21 - 64%

% premium of MS67 / Capsule: -18 - 36%

% premium of MS66 / Capsule: -12 - 17%

% premium of MS69 / DS*: 10 - 66%

% premium of MS68 / DS*: -13 - 19%

% premium of MS67 / DS*: -41 - 5%

2000 Mirror

For 2000 Mirror, there are only 2 sets of data to look at for same month of transaction. That is to say, only in the month of May and October, we have data to compare for premium of NGC MS69 & MS68 over double-sealed coins.

% premium of MS69 / DS*: 176 - 191%

% premium of MS68 / DS*: 88 - 129%

1999 Serif

% premium of MS69 / DS*: 60 - 363%

% premium of MS68 / DS*: 5 - 193%

% premium of MS67 / DS*: 41%

1995 Small Twig Micro

% premium of MS69 / DS*: 75 - 153%

*DS denotes Double-Sealed

In conclusion, a graded coin has different percentage premium for different year due to it's mintage, NGC graded population for that grade and even silver spot price. The relation is not as linear as MS69 indicates 100%, MS68 - 50% and so on. For example, the 1992 Large Date would have much more graded MS69 and above compared to the 1992 Small Date due to its eye appeal and hence collectors are willing to pay 30 - 40% more for the Small Date MS69. A 2011 MS70 Early Release could fetch a 100% premium  over capsuled one while the MS69 would be priced nearly the same as the capsuled.

Silver spot price could affect the premium in the sense that when silver spot is high, collectors would settle for something lower grade like MS67 or capsule coin.

1986 Chinese Historical Figures Silver Set

司馬遷

Sima Qian (145 - 87 BC) Han Dynasty

Chinese Historian

蔡倫
Cai Lun (50 AD - 121) Eastern Han Dynasty
Inventor of paper and paper-making process

張衡
Zhang Heng (78 - 139) Eastern Han Dynasty
Inventor of Seismometer 

祖沖之
Zu Chong Zhi (429 - 500) Liu Song & Southern Qi Dynasty
Mathematician and Astronomer