PLEASE NOTE THAT THE COIN HAS NEVER BEEN REMOVED FROM THE SEALED PACKET. IT IS DIFFICULT TO PHOTOGRAPH BECAUSE OF REFLECTIONS.  THERE ARE NO BLEMISHES AND THIS RARE COIN IS IN MINT CONDITION.  

There are two major varieties of the 1998 gold Pandas: Small Date and Large Date. The 1998, 5 Yuan gold Large Date is a Shenyang Mint coin. The two versions are not hard to tell apart; the numerals of the Small Date are much smaller than those of the Large Date. The total mintage for both varieties is 27,483. It’s clear that far fewer than that exist in B.U. condition today. The Large Date variety is much scarcer than the Small Date.

Most 1998 5 Yuan Large Dates are graded MS-69 or MS-70.

The 1998 5 Yuan Large Date gold Panda is part of three NGC Registry sets: "Gold 1/20 Ounce Panda, 1983-Date, Mint State," "Gold 1/20 Ounce Panda, 1983-Date, Mint State (Incl. Varieties)" and "Gold 1/20 Ounce Panda, 1983-Date, Mint State and Proof."