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An
Interview with Martin Weiss
Founder
of Panda America
How did you get into the Panda coin business?
In the early 1980s, a friend offered me the distributorship of the
coins of Macau. I approached a large New York marketing company
to see if they were interested, but they were not. Instead they
asked me if I was interested in distributing coins for China. Understand
that at that time there was virtually no market for modern Chinese
coins in the United States or anywhere else. And for good reasons.
The People’s Republic of China had only issued small denomination
coins for circulation before 1979. No commemoratives … no
silver … no gold. At the time, we were still in the Cold War,
and the idea of selling coins from a Communist country did not necessarily
sound like a sure winner. But the New York marketing company did
not follow through with their offer, and gave the rights to someone
else.
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What
changes were made to the gold Pandas issued the following year?
As
a result of requests from myself and others, China added denominations
to the Panda gold coins in 1983. Since the Mint had to make new
obverse dies in order to add the denominations, they decided to
change the Panda design as well. They continued to change the design
every year thereafter, which added greatly to the attractiveness
and desirability of the Panda coins as a popular collectible series,
in addition to their original purpose as bullion pieces. |
So what happened?
I had prepared a marketing plan and had begun to
execute it. When I was told that I could not purchase the new Panda
gold coins in the United States, I arranged to buy them from an
Asian source. That’s when I changed the name of my numismatic
enterprise to Panda America, and became the first company to promote
and sell the Panda gold coins in the United States. We were so successful,
that the original marketing company that had turned me down, named
Panda America as an official distributor, and now -- over 20 years
later -- we are pleased to be one of the world’s leading market-makers
of Panda coins.
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How
are Panda mintages determined?
The
Chinese consider these as bullion issues, and their policy has been
to produce enough coins to fill the orders received each year. Mintages
are cut off at the end of each year. Only 15,815 1 oz. gold Pandas
were made (and sold) in 1982, 22,470 in 1983, and 23,330 in 1984.
Spurred on by the tremendous publicity generated by the loan of
two Pandas to the Los Angeles Zoo during the 1984 Olympics, mintages
skyrocketed beginning in 1985 through 1992, ranging from about 50,000
to over 150,000. The adorable 1985 design also encouraged many new
purchasers, and continues to be a best-seller in the series. Mintages
were reduced from 1993 through 1996, before mushrooming to over
100,000 per year thereafter.
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What’s
the story behind the 1982 gold Pandas?
When
I was originally shown the proposed design, the denomination was
indicated. But when the first coins came in, no face values were
indicated on the 1, ½, ¼ or 1/10 oz. gold coins. It
seems that someone over there thought that the coins looked better
without the denomination. As a consequence, the 1982 gold Pandas
are not listed in The Standard Catalog of World Coins, but are relegated
to Unusual World Coins. But this is wrong. They are legal tender,
as was attested to by a letter from the China Mint that allowed
the coins to be imported duty free, which would not have been given
the case if they had been medals or tokens. There is the precedence
of other legal tender coins that have no denominations indicated
that are listed in The Standard Catalog, like British Sovereigns
or Mexican Libertads.
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I
coined the word “Pandamonium” for the exploding Panda
coin market that witnessed the 1982 coin jumping to $2,000 in 1983,
and then climbing to $4,000 within a few years. Unfortunately, the
fact that the price had risen too quickly combined with a weakening
gold market, resulted in the price falling back. But continued demand,
especially from new collectors in China, is again causing shortages
in supply and increasing prices – to about $2,000 right now
and rising. |
What
is your relationship with the China Mint?
It
has been a close, friendly relationship. I made 27 trips there --
sometimes three times in a single year – in order to coordinate
new products and marketing efforts. I recall meeting Mr. Bien, Director
of the Shanghai Mint, at the 1983 convention of the American Numismatic
Association in San Diego. He was wearing an old fashioned hearing
aid that didn’t work very well. I helped him get a new model.
Mr. Bien was so delighted with the improvement that he offered to
do us a favor. I suggested that they mint a 12 oz. pure gold Panda
coin, and the Chinese officials quickly approved the production
of 250 pieces.
What
do you think the future holds for the Panda gold coin series?
In
the past year, we sold more Panda coins than in the previous 5 years
combined. I think that the future will be amazing. It reminds me
of U.S. coin prices in the early 1950’s, when I started to
collect coins. For instance, you could have bought an uncirculated
1909-S VDB Cent for about $25 that’s worth over $1,000 now
… and that classic American rarity had a mintage of more than
30 times greater than the 1982 Panda 1 oz. gold coin! The Chinese
now have both the opportunity and the money to collect their own
coins. With well over a billion people, including over 250,000 millionaires,
in China it doesn’t take a genius to figure out the future.
2005
China Panda Gold Coin |
Coming
next: The Lunar-Zodiac Series |
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All
information and photographs in this site
© PandaAmerica Corp™ 2005 All Rights Reserved
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