China Panda 1 Oz Silver Coins Why Such A Prem?

Simply put --- "...because they can..."

I think they're riding high on a tidal wave of fashion/popularity, milking it dry to the max and laughing all the way to the bank. Pandas are for those who want to collect or stack Pandas and not for anybody who wants to stack silver in quantity.

If you find the mystique and allure of the Pandas irresistible, they're for you.

They have been minting since early 80s with different design each year-many of which bring big bucks if low mintage an usually the older the coin- the higher the cost....

Panda itself represents China and of course being endangered their species carries with it a mystique and natural curiosity by many collectors....

Still with more fakes then real ones out there I refer to them as Russian roulette bullion.....

I would be surprised if the premiums for the early pandas did anything but go up. With a mintage of 100,000 or so for some of those years coupled with the annual changing design, there will always be collectors joining the ranks that want to obtain the complete annual set and pay big bucks for them. However, as the quality of fakes improves that might keep the premiums in check. I really like the world bullion that changes their design, and I will continue to add them to my stack.

I think the answers so far don't address the fact that the pandas border between bullion and numismatic.

The recent few years excluded, Relatively few pandas are produced year to year (in the order of hundreds of thousands as oppose to millions like the ASE or SML). Add to that up to 3-4 possible variations within each year caused by inconsistencies between the 2-3 Chinese mints that produce the pandas, some years and variations can be extremely rare to come by and a complete set next to impossible to put together. Further throw in inaccurate reports of numbers of coins sold and varying guestimations of the numbers that are actively traded, the panda market can be very interesting.

Eagles are as close to straight up bullion as coins get. There are no variations. It is produced on to demand. Save for a few key dates and those to prefer for someone to housing their bullion in plastic coffins and tell them it's perfect, the cost of ASEs don't stray far from melt. As such, not really comparable to pandas.

Now, the 2011, 2012, and now 2013 pandas are another story. The mintage on these latter years are capped at 6+ million if capped at all. The inconsistency factor has also be eliminated. The reason that people in North America still have to pay a pretty premium for these more recent pandas is because of the hype carried over from older pandas that dealers don't mind capitalizing on as well as the higher overhead of buying and selling silver produced overseas. Most North American dealers, buying pandas in bulk for resale, cannot buy often enough to justify staying too close to spot price while accounting for purchase price and shipping/taxes/etc.

There is the problem of fakes but it ain't roulette if one is able to invest the time (considerable, given) required to appraising. And, some prefer the challenge for their hobby.

pandas are really pretty bullion but mostly overpriced ... I'd better go (and I do) for chinese lunar ...
anyway this went on auction for $243,506USD
How many ASEs it is? )))

I think a lot has to do with it being one of the first two modern silver bullion issues, and the first to change it's design yearly. The Libertad was 1982 but it's design has been the changed only once. The Panda was first issued in 1983 and then, I think, other gov't mints jumped on the band wagon. ASE in 1986, Leafs in '88, Kooks in '90, Brits in '97, Phils in 2008 and Russian Georges in 2009.

I think that Panda's yearly design changes were first and caught the eye of collectors and have been a fave ever since. I know they are a fave of mine.

I am as xenophobic as the next guy, but when I display my collections of Eagles , Libertads and Pandas , it is always the beauty and changing design of the Pandas that catch everyone's eye.

What kind of premiums are you guys talking about?

I agree with this. Although I've recently put in an order for 1 sheet of 2013 panda. Chances are, I'll flip them later and only save a few for myself.