Copyright © PeerMetals 2026
China's platinum bullion coin, struck as a 1 oz proof with a 100 yuan face value from 1987 to 1990 and in fractional sizes (down to 1/20 oz) until 2005, when rising platinum prices ended the programme. Mintages were small -- the 1 oz coins run to a few thousand pieces each -- so it trades as a scarce collectible with a full ounce of .9995 platinum underneath. One of the hardest modern platinum coins to find.
Chinese Platinum Panda melt value tracks platinum spot price directly — this chart is the same live platinum price used to calculate the melt value above, so you can see the trend behind today's number.
What is actually struck on each face, and who designed it.
The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests at the Temple of Heaven, Beijing, with the country name in Chinese characters above and the date below — the obverse shared by every Panda coin since 1982.
A giant panda, in a new pose each year, with the weight, "Pt .9995" and the 100 yuan face value. Chen Jian designed the 1987 coin, which closely follows that year's gold Panda.
China added platinum to its Panda series in 1987, five years after the gold Panda's debut. The 1 oz 100 yuan coin was struck in proof for 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990 only; from 1991 the platinum Panda shrank to 1/2 oz and smaller sizes, and the last coins were issued in 2005 as platinum climbed past the price the mint could sell it at.
Official mintages for the 1 oz coins are low to begin with, and during the 1990s platinum's price at times exceeded the coins' collector value, so an unknown number were melted. Surviving examples in original packaging with certificate are scarce, and graded coins (NGC/PCGS) command the highest prices.
The melt value shown on this page is the platinum floor. Actual sale prices for 1 oz Platinum Pandas run to a large multiple of it, driven by the annual design, the tiny mintages and demand from Chinese collectors. Treat this coin as numismatic first and bullion second.
About the Chinese Platinum Panda
At the current platinum spot price of $1,778.60/oz, the melt value of a Chinese Platinum Panda (1 troy oz, .9995 fine platinum) is approximately $1,778.60. This updates continuously with the spot price above — sellers on the marketplace typically price above melt value, since the premium covers minting, distribution, and dealer margin.
Melt value is the raw metal content only — what you'd get scrapping the coin. The premium above it pays for minting, distribution, and dealer margin, and on this marketplace specifically, it's set by each individual seller rather than one company's price list, so it's worth comparing a few listings rather than buying the first one you see.
Like any commodity, platinum trades on global supply and demand — mine output and recycling on the supply side, industrial use, jewelry, and investment buying on the demand side. Short-term moves are usually driven by macro factors: interest rates, currency strength, and how much uncertainty investors are pricing into markets generally.
Government-minted bullion coins like this one are legal tender, widely recognized, and easy to resell — that recognition is usually worth the modest premium over generic rounds or bars of the same weight. For buyers who want to add to a physical position gradually, one-ounce coins are also just a convenient, liquid unit size.
This page shows melt value — spot price times pure metal content, recalculated on every page load. Individual seller listings add their own premium on top, and that premium (not the melt value) is what actually varies between sellers, so it's normal for listing prices below to sit above the number at the top of this page.
Melt value at the same live platinum spot price of $1,778.60/oz.
