I had a lady ask me to look over a Panda she had received from a store online. She said she ordered a MS-70 version of the Panda and they sent her a Prf-69 one instead. She was concerned about its authenticity and grade because of:
- The obverse has a "smiley face" on the Pandas leg to the left
- The company etched the serial number onto the coin, which matches the certificate.
I examined the coin to see the above issues, and also found that one area of the coin had its letters reversed. I also told her it seemed odd that the building on the reverse was quite off center, and since I do not own one of these, nor do I collect Pandas I don't know the history behind the die makings and design.
I was swamped Friday, I tried my best to keep up at the cost of taking photos as best I could without changing lenses and macros. lets hope these photos are good enough to figure out what's going on.
Full Obverse
Full Reverse
Close up of Panda with Smiley Face near back leg
Seal on Obverse that is backwards
Close up of reverse, right side of building goes to the rim
Close up of reverse left side of building that is not close to the rim
The NGC Certification page for the NGC number is here:
I cannot make out if the seal is backwards, or if the smiley face exists on the leg of the Panda on the photos that NGC shot.
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