South African Krugerrand (1967 – Present)

South_African_Krugerrand

South African Krugerrand (1967 – Present)

Categories: 

The Krugerrand is a South African gold coin, first minted in 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 itself is a compound of “Kruger” (the man depicted on the obverse) and “rand”, the South African unit of currency. During the 1970s and 1980s some Western countries forbade import of the Krugerrand because of the association with the apartheid government of South Africa. The Krugerrand today is a popular coin among collectors.The Krugerrand was introduced in 1967 as a vehicle for private ownership of gold. Unusual for bullion coins, the Krugerrand was given the status of legal tender or currency. To this end, it was minted in a more durable copper-gold alloy. Despite the coin’s legal tender status, economic sanctions against South Africa for its policy of apartheid made the Krugerrand an illegal import in many Western countries during the 1970s and 1980s. These sanctions ended when South Africa abandoned apartheid in 1994. By 1980 the Krugerrand accounted for 90% of the global gold coin market. That year South Africa introduced three smaller coins with a half ounce, quarter ounce, and tenth ounce of gold. Krugerrand coins containing 46 million ounces of gold have been sold.

The coin is so named because the obverse, designed by Otto Schultz, bears the face of Boer statesman Paul Kruger, four-term president of the old South African Republic. The reverse depicts a springbok, one of the national symbols of South Africa. The image was designed by Coert Steynberg, and was previously used on the reverse of the earlier South African five shilling coin. The name “South Africa” and the gold content are inscribed in both Afrikaans and English (as can be seen on the pictures of the coin).

The reverse (back) of the Krugerrand features a South African antelope (a springbok) prancing with the coin name at the top, ‘KRUGERRAND’. The date of issue and the amount and purity of the gold is listed on the reverse, as well.

Coin Attributes
Coin Size: 1 oz., 1/2 oz., 1/4 oz., 1/10 oz.
Gross Weight: 33.93 g, 16.965 g, 8.482 g, 3.93 g
Diameter: 32.7 mm, 27 mm, 22 mm, 16.5 mm
Actual Gold Content: N.A
Composition: 91.67% Gold, 8.33% Copper
Designer: O. Schultz (obverse); C.L. Steynberg (reverse)
Years Minted: 1967-present (1 oz); 1980-present (1/2 oz, ¼ oz, and 1/10 oz)
Mint: Pretoria