Owner Comments:
The 1995 panda coins were stuck in both proof and BU quality. The proof coin did NOT include a “P” mark this year; however, the proof panda design differed from the BU panda design so it is easy to know which one is the proof version. The BU coin had 3 varieties – the large date, small date and the micro date. The large date version had a panda holding a large bamboo twig. The small and micro date versions had a panda holding a small bamboo twig. The small and micro dates were minted at the Shenyang mint, the large date at the Shanghai mint and the proof at the Shenyang mint. The large, small and micro dates all utilized a “serif” style 1.
Mintage was 252,000 BU and only 10,000 Proof. The proof version low mintage makes this coin highly valued. Also, the micro date version is very rare and thus also highly valued.
Comment:
NGC designates the 3 varieties as follows:
Large Date – Large Twig
Large Date – Small Twig (aka Small Date – Small Twig)
Small Date – Small Twig (aka Micro Date – Small Twig)
I think the 2 coins with the small twig would be better noted as “small date” and “micro date” since there are 3 distinct sizes in the dates.