Peter Anthony:The 1984 27 gm is the second silver Panda released by the China Mint.It has a face value of 10 Yuan and was struck from .900 pure silver. At 27 gms it weighs closer to ¾ oz. than a full oz. Interestingly there are pattern coins that suggest a 1 oz. silver Panda was also considered at the time. The mintage is the same 10,000 as the prior year.

The 1984 silver Panda was designed by Xie Lie, the first woman to create a Panda coin design. Perhaps not coincidentally the relationship between cub and adult bear is central to the design of this coin. Besides the two Pandas the only other visual element is a few bamboo stalks. It is certainly a very beautiful and charming design and remains popular among collectors. The one downside is that its simplicity has attracted counterfeiters. This is a coin that I especially recommend to buy graded and authenticated by a company like NGC.

The 1984 is a bit more available than the 1983. Only around one out of three coins submitted to NGC has earned a Proof-69 grade. Even this understates the rarity of a high grade coin as obviously impaired coins usually don’t get graded. The 1984 generally sells for a bit less than its predecessor but is still highly desirable. It is part of two NGC Registry sets: "Silver 10Y Panda, 1983-Date, One-Per-Date" and "Silver 10Y Panda, 1983-1999, Proof"