[seszett]

> tourist gifts or souvenirs

I don't know the details because I don't really care about gold as an investment, but everything I find says variations of "the 3g Gold Pandas have a face value of 50 Yuan and are legal tender in China.". It would be subject to VAT in Belgium anyway if it was not considered to have legal tender.

And that's the smallest one, I seriously doubt many people buy a 4000 € (30g) coin as a tourist gift.

[tianqi]

It is definitely not legal tender. As a Chinese, I've only ever seen such things in tourist souvenir shops for foreigners. If your argument is that a €4000 souvenir is questionable, please allow me to remind you that a €4000 currency coin makes no more sense. If your source is this webpage: https://www.kjc-gold-silver-bullion.com.au/PD/30-g-2023-chin..., I can be almost certain it's a scam because its description is ridiculous.

[GJim]

> It is definitely not legal tender.

"Legal tender" doesn't mean what you think it means.

It has nothing to do with what coins/notes are in circulation or commonly accepted.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_tender

Bullion coins are typically marked as 'legal tender' (of a nominal value relative to the precious metal content) as doing so exempts them from sales tax in most jurisdictions..... because they are technically "legal tender" (coins) and not bullion.

e.g. British sovereigns are still produced and have a "legal tender" value of £1. Though the gold content of one is currently about £800 last I looked.

[seszett]

> As a Chinese, I've only ever seen such things in tourist souvenir shops for foreigners

Huh, none of these coins are in general use in any country because it would make no sense (their facial value is always largely below their metal value, which is basically constantly appreciating). As a French person I have never seen 20 francs coins in circulation either, and I wouldn't by my baguette with one, but they are still obviously not a "scam", even if their actual value doesn't match their face value. I mean, I should know since I actually buy them, manipulate them, and use them for their gold content.

The page you linked is quite unlikely to be a scam (except that it sells the coin for quite a premium, compared to what I can get at home like say https://www.argentorshop.be/en/gold-coin-chinese-panda-30-gr... in Belgium).

I think you don't understand how these gold coins work, honestly I don't claim I really understand why central banks produce them either, but they do exist and they seem like a convenient way to invest in real gold (and here comes my initial remark: but why choose the ones that sell for a premium as compared to the ones that sell just for their weight in gold, that I don't understand).

You can get more information on the Chinese Gold Panda coins on Wikipedia if you like: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Gold_Panda