Issued to mark fifteen years of the Panda gold series, which launched in 1982 as China's first modern bullion program aimed squarely at international collectors and investors. The series was unusual from the outset in that the People's Bank of China changed the panda design annually — a deliberate policy that distinguished it from static bullion programs like the Krugerrand and drove secondary-market demand among date collectors.
The 1996 anniversary issue carries a fixed commemorative design rather than the annual revision, making it technically distinct from the standard-issue Panda struck the same year.
Issued to mark fifteen years of the Panda gold series, which launched in 1982 as China's first modern bullion program aimed squarely at international collectors and investors. The series was unusual from the outset in that the People's Bank of China changed the panda design annually — a deliberate policy that distinguished it from static bullion programs like the Krugerrand and drove secondary-market demand among date collectors.
The 1996 anniversary issue carries a fixed commemorative design rather than the annual revision, making it technically distinct from the standard-issue Panda struck the same year.