South African Mint – Gold Krugerrand
- Krugerrands are perhaps the most recognizable coin in the entire world.
- Obverse: Likeness of Paul Kruger, South Africa’s first and only president, along with “South Africa” in Afrikaans and English.
- Reverse: A Springbok antelope, the national animal of South Africa
| Description |
Gold Krugerrand Coin DetailsThe Krugerrand is a South African coin, first minted on 3rd July, 1967 to help market South African gold and produced by the South African Mint. By 1980, the Krugerrand accounted for 90% of the global gold coin market. The name is a compound of Paul Kruger, the former South African president depicted on the obverse, and rand, the South African unit of currency. The Krugerrand was the first gold coin to contain exactly one troy ounce of gold. | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| History | In the 1980s, the Krugerrand accounted for 89% of the global gold coin market. For many years the Krugerrand stood alone as the only gold bullion coin available to the international market, but during the years when sanctions against the South African government were applied in the mid-1980s, other mints took the opportunity to issue their own legal tender bullion coins. By this time, the Krugerrand had already become one of the world’s leading brand names, and with the lifting of the apartheid in 1994 and the ascent of Nelson Mandela to the office of President of South Africa, the coin regained its status as one of the leading gold bullion coins traded worldwide. It remains so today, with over 46,000,000 pieces (1,420 tonnes of gold) in circulation. The South African Krugerrand is internationally the most popular investment gold bullion coin. | ||||||||||
| Design | The obverse (front) side of the coin is detailed with a profiled bust of President Paul Kruger, designed by O. Schultz, and features the name of the country in the country’s two native languages, English and Afrikaans. The reverse (back) side of the coin was designed and engraved by Coert Steynberg, a famous South African sculptor, and depicts the image of a prancing springbok antelope, one of the national symbols of South Africa, originally used on the South African 5-shilling piece. The reverse side also features the name of the coin, the year of issue, the gold contents, and the words ‘FYNGOUD’ and ‘FINE GOLD’. |
