China Buying Gold Coins

The People’s Bank of China announced in the second week of June 2011 its plans to more than double the issuance of gold panda coins. The decision was made to meet the growing demand for precious metal coins. China’s central bank said that it has plans to issue around one million ounces of its 2011 panda gold coins. This marks a significant increase from its earlier plans, announced at the end of 2010, of issuing 500,000 ounces of gold panda coins in 2011.

China seems to have a huge appetite for buying gold coins. A news report published by Bloomberg said, “Demand for gold in China has increased as investors seek a store of value in an economy where inflation accelerated last month to the fastest pace in almost three years.” According to the estimates of the World Gold Council, China’s investment demand for gold spiked over 100% to 90.9 tons in the first three months of 2011, while demand for gold jewelry rose 21% to a new high of 142.9 tons.

Buying Gold Coins: The Chinese Gold Panda

The Chinese Gold Panda was first produced in 1982 and the initial editions were in sizes of 1/10, 1/4, 1/2 and 1 ounce. This attractive looking coin is now produced by various Chinese Mints, the most pronounced being the Beijing Chinese Mint, the Shangyang Mint, the Shenzhen Mint and the Shanghai Mint. There have been years in which the mints have issued special editions coin, including the 1 gram coin that was manufactured in 1991. In fact, even a one kilogram coin was issued in subsequent years. The special aspect of these coins was that the reverse always had a depiction of the Temple of Heaven (a renowned landmark in Beijing) and the obverse of the coin always had a panda, albeit in different designs every year.

All Chinese Gold Panda coins, now available in five different finenesses, are genuine legal tender coins. They have a purity of 99.99 percent (.9999). Since their production had earlier been limited, they are highly sought after by collectors and sell at prices much higher than the value of their gold content according to gold spot price.

Buying Gold Coins from Across the World

Many nations manufacture their own series of special gold coins. These coins typically bear a symbol of the country and sometimes also depict some part of the country’s history. Some of the most popular coins minted by countries are:

• Gold Eagles – USA
• Gold Buffaloes – USA
• Gold Maple Leafs – Canada
• Gold Krugerrands from South Africa
• Gold Pandas – China
• Gold Philharmonic – Austria
• Gold Kangaroos – Australia
• Gold Kolas – Australia

When Buying Gold Coins

If you have been considering buying gold coins, here are a few things you should bear in mind:

• Always know the spot price of gold
• Decide the size of coin you wish to buy, depending on your budget. If you have a limited budget, buying the smallest gold coins may be right. However, if your budget permits it, always opt for larger coins. A larger gold coin represents more value for the money, as production and shipping costs as a percentage of the price would be lower than for smaller coins.
• Conduct thorough research , but when you actually wish to make the purchase, seek a reputable company.
• Ensure that the company from which you make the purchase has a number of years of experience selling gold coins.
• Always read the policies of the company from which you are buying gold coins.