Krugerrand
Encyclopedia
The Krugerrand is a South Africa
n gold coin
, first minted in 1967 to help market South African gold. The coin, produced by the South African Mint
, proved popular and by 1980 the Krugerrand accounted for 90% of the 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 '80s some countries forbade import of the Krugerrand because of the association with the apartheid government of South Africa, which has since been abolished. The Krugerrand today is a popular coin among collectors
.
. 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.
Through 2008, Krugerrand coins containing 46 million ounces of gold have been sold.
in 1979, the Australian Nugget in 1981, the American Gold Eagle
in 1986 and the British Britannia coin
.
Private mints have also attempted to capitalize off the popularity of the Krugerrand, minting gold and silver bullion rounds (the term coin denotes legal currency) in the style of the Krugerrand. The rounds often depict Paul Kruger and a springbok antelope, some even blatantly copying the same design as on the Krugerrands themselves, though the inscriptions are altered. These bullion rounds are not offered by the South African Mint or the Government of South Africa, and are therefore not official, have no legal tender value and can not technically be considered coins.
The Krugerrand is 32.77 mm in diameter and 2.84 mm thick. The Krugerrand's actual weight is 1.0909 troy ounces (33.93 g). It is minted from gold alloy that is 91.67% pure (22 karat
s), so the coin contains one troy ounce (31.1035 g) of gold. The remaining 8.33% of the coin's weight (2.826 g) is copper
(an alloy known historically as crown gold
which has long been used for English gold sovereigns), which gives the Krugerrand a more orange appearance than silver-alloyed gold coins. Copper alloy coins are harder and more durable, so they can resist scratches and dents.
The Krugerrand 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 word "Krugerrand" is a registered trade mark owned by Rand Refinery Limited
, of Germiston
.
The South African Mint Company produces limited edition proof
Krugerrands intended as collector's items. These coins are priced above bullion value, although non-proof Krugerrands also have a premium above gold bullion value. They can be distinguished from the bullion Krugerrands by the number of serrations on the edge of the coin. Proof coins have 220 while bullion coins have 160.
, and so is any coin denominated as a fraction of a Krugerrand.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n gold coin
Gold coin
A gold coin is a coin made mostly or entirely of gold. Gold has been used for coins practically since the invention of coinage, originally because of gold's intrinsic value...
, first minted in 1967 to help market South African gold. The coin, produced by the South African Mint
South African Mint
The South African Mint Company Limited is the official mint of the Republic of South Africa with its headquarters in Centurion, Gauteng Province near Pretoria. SA MINT manufactures coins on behalf of the South African Reserve Bank. The company is headed by A. M...
, proved popular and by 1980 the Krugerrand accounted for 90% of the gold coin market. The name itself is a compound of Kruger
Paul Kruger
Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger , better known as Paul Kruger and affectionately known as Uncle Paul was State President of the South African Republic...
(the man depicted on the obverse) and rand
South African rand
The rand is the currency of South Africa. It takes its name from the Witwatersrand , the ridge upon which Johannesburg is built and where most of South Africa's gold deposits were found. The rand has the symbol "R" and is subdivided into 100 cents, symbol "c"...
, the South African unit of currency. During the 1970s and '80s some countries forbade import of the Krugerrand because of the association with the apartheid government of South Africa, which has since been abolished. The Krugerrand today is a popular coin among collectors
Coin collecting
Coin collecting is the collecting or trading of coins or other forms of minted legal tender.Coins of interest to collectors often include those that circulated for only a brief time, coins with mint errors and especially beautiful or historically significant pieces. Coin collecting can be...
.
History
The Krugerrand was introduced in 1967 as a vehicle for private ownership of gold. Unusually for bullion coins, the Krugerrand was intended to circulate as currencyCurrency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
. To this end, it was minted in a more durable copper-gold alloy
Crown gold
Crown gold is a 22 karat gold alloy, introduced in England for gold crown coin manufacture in 1526 . It is 22/24 = 0.91667 fine or 91.667% gold....
. 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.
Through 2008, Krugerrand coins containing 46 million ounces of gold have been sold.
Variations and imitations
The success of the Krugerrand led to many other gold-producing nations minting their own bullion coins, such as the Canadian Gold Maple LeafCanadian Gold Maple Leaf
The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf is the official bullion gold coin of Canada, and is produced by the Royal Canadian Mint. The brainchild of Walter Ott, it is one of the purest gold regular-issue coins in the world with a gold content of .9999 millesimal fineness , with some special issues .99999 fine...
in 1979, the Australian Nugget in 1981, the American Gold Eagle
American Gold Eagle
The American Gold Eagle is an official gold bullion coin of the United States. Authorized under the Gold Bullion Coin Act of 1985, it was first released by the United States Mint in 1986.- Details :...
in 1986 and the British Britannia coin
Britannia coin
Britannia coins are British bullion coins issued by the Royal Mint in gold since 1987 and in silver since 1997.Britannia gold coins contain one troy ounce of gold and have a face value of £100. Gold Britannias also are issued in fractional sizes of one-half, one-quarter, and one-tenth of a troy...
.
Private mints have also attempted to capitalize off the popularity of the Krugerrand, minting gold and silver bullion rounds (the term coin denotes legal currency) in the style of the Krugerrand. The rounds often depict Paul Kruger and a springbok antelope, some even blatantly copying the same design as on the Krugerrands themselves, though the inscriptions are altered. These bullion rounds are not offered by the South African Mint or the Government of South Africa, and are therefore not official, have no legal tender value and can not technically be considered coins.
Properties
Carat (purity)
The karat or carat is a unit of purity for gold alloys.- Measure :Karat purity is measured as 24 times the purity by mass:where...
s), so the coin contains one troy ounce (31.1035 g) of gold. The remaining 8.33% of the coin's weight (2.826 g) is copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
(an alloy known historically as crown gold
Crown gold
Crown gold is a 22 karat gold alloy, introduced in England for gold crown coin manufacture in 1526 . It is 22/24 = 0.91667 fine or 91.667% gold....
which has long been used for English gold sovereigns), which gives the Krugerrand a more orange appearance than silver-alloyed gold coins. Copper alloy coins are harder and more durable, so they can resist scratches and dents.
The Krugerrand is so named because the obverse, designed by Otto Schultz, bears the face of Boer
Boer
Boer is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for farmer, which came to denote the descendants of the Dutch-speaking settlers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century, as well as those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State,...
statesman Paul Kruger
Paul Kruger
Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger , better known as Paul Kruger and affectionately known as Uncle Paul was State President of the South African Republic...
, four-term president of the old South African Republic
South African Republic
The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
. The reverse depicts a springbok, one of the national symbols of South Africa. The image was designed by Coert Steynberg
Coert Steynberg
Coert Steynberg Sculpting the Dias statue, 1933Birth nameCoert Laurens SteynbergBorn7 January 1905 Hennops River, South AfricaDied28 July 1982 PretoriaNationalitySouth AfricanFieldsculpture, drawingTrainingRhodes UniversityRoyal College of ArtMovementModernismWorksMonuments, Statues, Coin...
, 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
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
(as can be seen on the pictures of the coin).
The word "Krugerrand" is a registered trade mark owned by Rand Refinery Limited
Rand Refinery
Rand Refinery Limited is the largest single-site gold refining and smelting complex in the world.It was established in 1920 in Germiston, South Africa, by the Chamber of Mines of South Africa to refine all the gold produced by South Africa's gold mines. Since its inception it has refined in excess...
, of Germiston
Germiston, Gauteng
Germiston is a city in the East Rand of Gauteng in South Africa. Germiston is now the seat of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality which includes much of the East Rand, and is also considered part of Greater Johannesburg.-History:...
.
| Denomination | Diameter* (mm) |
Thickness* (mm) |
Weight (g Gram The gram is a metric system unit of mass.... ) |
Fineness | Gold content | Edge reeded |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (g) | (oz t Troy ounce The troy ounce is a unit of imperial measure. In the present day it is most commonly used to gauge the weight of precious metals. One troy ounce is nowadays defined as exactly 0.0311034768 kg = 31.1034768 g. There are approximately 32.1507466 troy oz in 1 kg... ) |
||||||
| 1 oz | 32.77 | 2.84 | 33.930 | 22 karat 91.67% | 31.103 | 1.000 | 160** |
| 1/2 oz | 27.07 | 2.215 | 16.965 | 22 karat 91.67% | 15.552 | 0.500 | 185 |
| 1/4 oz | 22.06 | 1.888 | 8.482 | 22 karat 91.67% | 7.776 | 0.250 | 150 |
| 1/10 oz | 16.55 | 1.35 | 3.393 | 22 karat 91.67% | 3.110 | 0.100 | 115 |
| * Maximum dimensions | |||||||
Proof Krugerrands
Proof coinage
Proof coinage means special early samples of a coin issue, historically made for checking the dies and for archival purposes, but nowadays often struck in greater numbers specially for coin collectors . Many countries now issue them....
Krugerrands intended as collector's items. These coins are priced above bullion value, although non-proof Krugerrands also have a premium above gold bullion value. They can be distinguished from the bullion Krugerrands by the number of serrations on the edge of the coin. Proof coins have 220 while bullion coins have 160.
Counterfeiting
The Krugerrand is a "protected coin" for the purposes of Part II of the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981
The Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It replaces the Forgery Act 1913, the Coinage Offences Act 1936 and parts of the Forgery Act 1861...
, and so is any coin denominated as a fraction of a Krugerrand.