Snakes Vs. Bears Vs. Birds

Pandas are always good if you can find them under 10$ spot.

I like the Pandas and they seem to hold their value. The Kookaburras and Koalas also seem to do well. I have some of each and I like the designs. Same reason as you, looking for something a little more interesting, they look nice displayed too.

You're now facing the age-old quandary--- Do I stack solid value, plain-Jane, low-premium, uninteresting stuff or should I collect fancy, shiny, pretty,
"semi-numis" bullion (and maybe get it slabbed while I'm at it, too)?

So -- do you want to stack value-oriented low-premium bullion by weight or collect fancy, upper-class, semi-numis quality bullion? Path #1 puts more
$$ into silver and less into premiums and the silver isn't all that much to look at. Path #2 puts a lot more $$ into premiums and less into silver, but the
silver lends itself to truly impressive, beautiful displays. "Ya pays yer money and ya takes yer choice..."

I find it really hard to stick with Path #1. That fancy semi-numis stuff never stops singing its siren song to me and I always feel like I need for somebody
to lash me to the mast.

Why the distinction between pre-2010 and post-2010? Mintage? Counterfeiting? Or something else entirely?

yes, mintage
after 2010 mintage grew 4-8 times (depending on mintage estimates of 2010: 800K-1.5M)

I agree with bekiz in trying to get pre-2010 mintage pandas, but they are hard to find and are quite expensive.

Starbuxinvestor, you're welcome. I picked up a sheet of the 2012s myself in spite of the high mintage. Have you considered the Canadian wildlife series? Mintage of only a million, lower premiums than eagles, and the first two have appreciated very well. Hard for me to find a downside with them.