1/20 oz Gold Chinese Unicorn Mintages
The Problem
Many coin dealers are hawking common BU 1/20 gold unicorns as scarce, referring to the
proof coin mintages.
Do NOT be mislead into buying a common 1/20 gold unicorn, being told it is "rare".
Unknown to even many expert coin dealers, there were 2 types of 1/20 oz gold unicorns
produced between 1994 and 1998. Some unscrupulous coin dealers used this to their
advantage, hawking the common BU version as "ultra low mintage" or "overwhelmingly scarce"
or "very rare", referring to the proof mintages. The mintage figures for BU/prooflike
1/20 oz gold unicorns from China (minted between 1994 and 1998) are UNKNOWN,
estimated to be approximately 100,000 per year, quite possibly even higher.
Specifically, the commonly referred-to mintage of 5,000 for 1996 BU/prooflike 1/20 gold
unicorns is INCORRECT.
The source of the misinformation
The misleading information comes from Krause, which is the usual source for information on
mintage figures. Krause has CORRECT information, but they only list the proof versions
of these coins. They show a mintage in 1994 of 3,600 proof 1/20 gold unicorns, in
1995 a mintage of 1,000, and in 1996 a mintage of 5,000. These are correct, but they
all refer specifically to the PROOF version of the coin.
There is, however, also a BU/prooflike version of the coin. This version is not listed in
Krause, and has an unknown mintage.
A reputable coin dealer will not use mintage figures from Krause for a BU/Prooflike
coin when Krause specifically lists the coin as proof. Also, a knowledgeable bullion coin
dealer should realize that there are way too many BU/Prooflike 1/20 gold unicorns on the
market for a coin with a supposed mintage of just 5,000. Chinese fractional bullion coins
are in higher demand than most, and the unicorn series is popular. The 1/25oz 1988 gold cat
has a mintage of 40,000, yet is very hard to find (only one is available on eBay right now,
as part of a set, while about 10 1/20 unicorns are available). I can not explain why so
many coin dealers were fooled (except for the handful that took advantage of the situation).
Proof of the two versions
| | 1996 Proof Version | 1996 BU/Prooflike Version |
|---|
| Condition | Proof | BU/Prooflike |
| Packaging | "Airtite" container with black foam | soft plastic |
| COA | Large numbered COA in English and Chinese | Small, unnumbered COA in plastic, in Chinese. |
| Mint mark | A "P" in a circle | None |
| Details | PROOF: The 1996 1/20 oz proof gold unicorn was distributed in 4-coin sets (1/20 oz, 1/10 oz,
1/4 oz and 1oz silver). Each coin came in an "airtite" capsule, is in proof
condition and like many coins from China has a P inside a circle to the left of the
unicorn on the reverse to designate that it is in proof condition. It also comes with a
numbered certificate of authenticity which states that it is proof, has a "P" on
it, and a total mintage of 5,000 pieces.
|
BU/Prooflike: The 1996 1/20 oz BU/proofline gold unicorn was distributed in a manner
similar to the 1/20th oz gold pandas, in soft plastic in sheets of 10, each with
its own unnumbered "mini COA". They do NOT contain the P-in-a-circle on them.
|
| Picture |  |  |
| Closeup |  |  |
| COA - Front | 
Click picture for closeup. |  |
| COA - Back | 
Click picture for closeup. | 
Note: The handwritten numbers in blue appear on the COA for 1 coin per 10-coin sheet. The other 9 coins have identical COAs except for the handwriting. These numbers may be repeated on other sheets, and are not unique. It is believed that the "97519" indicates the date of packaging (May 19, 1997).
The "97" is definitely the year. Other sheets of BU/Prooflike Pandas have similar markings.
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