Did they (the Chinese gov) ever say why the coins will not have weight and purity stamped on them? That move doesn't seem to make any sense so maybe they gave some reasons? Jim
There are already solid rumours on Chinese websites saying that 2016 Chinese Pandas will have new weight and denominations. My guess is... to minimise chaos 2015 they remove the weight and fineness, 2016 they change to metric (my guess 10g, 25g, 50g) and still remove the fineness. Then years to come probably the Chinese Pandas might not be .999 gold anymore. Just my suspicion...
See the post below yours. Ultimately? They want to charge the same amount, but for less metal. Of course, that's only my take on their behind-closed-doors reason -- and that you'll never hear them publicly state that..
I hope you're correct silverbullion. Would like to see some country go to an asset-backed currency, even if only partially. Curious to see how that might affect all the countries who keep printing and easing, etc., with no end in sight. Jim
I think they will only introduce it once the paper game is up. They are now having a whale of a time stealing the life savings of people and the wealth of whole nations.
I am curious silverbullion, how exactly is China "stealing the life savings of people and the wealth of whole nations?". It would seem to me that one could more easily say a country like mine, the US, is stealing the wealth of folks who like to keep money in the bank, certificates of deposit, etc, by artificially keeping interest rates near zero for years on end, etc., to help prop up the stock markets and banks, etc. Don't know about SA, but here our national debt is over $18T and growing in leaps and bounds. It has basically doubled since 2008 or so, and we keep running deficits each year with no end in sight. Don't think China is to blame for that but maybe I am missing something. Some countries now have negative interest rates which to me seems unimaginable. From where I am, I don't see how China is doing anything that negatively affects my interests financially speaking. Would like to know what they are doing though if you care to explain. I have heard that China is buying up much property in other countries, but that to me seems like what a country does when they have the extra $$$$ to spend. Just my opinion, Jim
I fully agree with you, but was not in reference to China "stealing the life savings of people and the wealth of whole nations?". Sorry for not making it clearer in my previous post.
If you have been collecting Panda coins all these years I would suggest pinching your nose, taping your mouth, plugging your ears, closing your eyes, imbibe something if possible or necessary and pressing the BUY button! You do not even need to unwrap the box when it arrives. Just put a sticker label on it with some choice swear words eg This is the b-llsh-- 2015 Panda xxx xxx xxx and shove it into a corner. The way numismatics go, there is always darkness in the index year. It is only with hindsight that people start getting wiser; by then it will be too late for many. They now have to pay a premium for what sold for peanuts years ago. Remember the 1983 27g silver panda? It was not up to 1oz. Yet a PF69 sold for $3888.88USD on eBay recently! Yes, it is a bit disorienting and dismaying that the 2015 Panda design was changed. We don't know exactly why that happened. There are several theories out there; only time will tell. But numismatics thrives on things like this! Frankly, Pandas had become a bit dull and predictable in recent years. We have had twin pandas and even triplets showcased on the coins. We have had umpteen poses over the years. This recent deletion of weight and purity from the coin face jazzes up things for this year! Now we are all anticipating 2016 changes. I have bought my usual annual complement of Pandas for 2015. I may buy a few more. Why? I don't know. I am probably crazy. Or I may be the greatest chess (?poker) player out there. Or what else? Strategic investor? Astute? Please note that a lot of people are still buying pandas!
Andy, salut! Some of my relative mainly collect only special editions of some 2 coins and some of them achieve quite nice prices on feeBay.
