Peter Anthony: The 1987 100 Yuan platinum Panda is the first of a four-year set. The coin’s design is nearly identical to the one on the 1987 BU gold Pandas. The design is by master artist Chen Jian, who also was the artist for the original 1982 Pandas. Noteworthy is the illusion of water created by using only a few simple lines.

With a mintage of only 2,000 this is clearly a scarce coin but the coin is rarer than the mintage suggests. During the mid-1990’s there were times that the platinum content of this coin overshadowed its numismatic worth. As a result many platinum Pandas were melted and resold as bars. Another issue for collectors is that many, probably a majority, of the remaining coins suffer from rub on the Panda’s forehead. This is sure grade killer.

The short 4-coin set of 1 oz. platinum Pandas is both a challenge and a joy to assemble. All four coins are scarce, or rare. The 1987 1 oz. gold Panda Panda is part of the NGC Registry set: “Platinum 1 Ounce Panda, 1987-1990, Proof”