The
Krugerrand is a
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
n
goldGold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. It has been a highly sought-after precious metal for coinage, jewelry, and other arts since the beginning of recorded history. The metal occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks, in veins and in alluvial deposits. Gold is...
coin, first minted in 1967 to help market South African gold. It is produced by the South African Mint Company.
The Krugerrand was introduced in 1967, as a vehicle for private ownership of gold. It was actually intended to circulate as
currencyIn economics, the term currency can refer either to a particular currency, for example the US dollar, or to the coins and banknotes of a particular currency, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
. Therefore it was minted in a more durable gold alloy, unlike most other
bullion coinA bullion coin is a coin struck from precious metal and kept as a store of value or an investment, rather than used in day-to-day commerce. Bullion coins are usually available in gold and silver, with the exception of the Krugerrand and the Swiss Vreneli which are only available in gold...
s.
An ordinary coin has a fixed legal tender value which is stamped on its face, which is normally greater than the bullion value of its metal.
The
Krugerrand is a
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
n
goldGold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. It has been a highly sought-after precious metal for coinage, jewelry, and other arts since the beginning of recorded history. The metal occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks, in veins and in alluvial deposits. Gold is...
coin, first minted in 1967 to help market South African gold. It is produced by the South African Mint Company.
History
The Krugerrand was introduced in 1967, as a vehicle for private ownership of gold. It was actually intended to circulate as
currencyIn economics, the term currency can refer either to a particular currency, for example the US dollar, or to the coins and banknotes of a particular currency, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
. Therefore it was minted in a more durable gold alloy, unlike most other
bullion coinA bullion coin is a coin struck from precious metal and kept as a store of value or an investment, rather than used in day-to-day commerce. Bullion coins are usually available in gold and silver, with the exception of the Krugerrand and the Swiss Vreneli which are only available in gold...
s.
An ordinary coin has a fixed legal tender value which is stamped on its face, which is normally greater than the bullion value of its metal. Earlier gold coins such as the British sovereign had a fixed face value, which was originally more than, and later could be much less than the bullion value of the gold content.
The Krugerrand has no face value; its legal tender value is the bullion value of its metal at the current market price of gold. The Krugerrand was the first bullion coin to have this kind of legal tender value. It was also the first gold coin to contain precisely one ounce of fine 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.
When introduced, the Krugerrand was sold at a premium of five percent over its bullion value.
By 1980 the Krugerrand accounted for 90% of the gold coin market. The success of the Krugerrand led to many other gold-producing nations minting their own bullion coins, such as the
Canadian Gold Maple LeafThe 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 coins of regular issue 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 British
Britannia coinThe Britannia is a British bullion gold coin issued since 1987, which contains one troy ounce of gold and with a face value of £100. There are also fractional Britannia coins, weighing a half, quarter, and one-tenth of an ounce, with face values of 50, 25, and 10 pounds respectively...
in 1987 and the
American Gold EagleThe 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. Offered in 1/10 oz, 1/4 oz, 1/2 oz, and 1 oz denominations, these coins are guaranteed by the U.S. government...
in 1986.
In 1980, three smaller coins were introduced, with a half ounce, quarter ounce, and tenth ounce of gold.
Through 2008, Krugerrand coins containing 46 million ounces of gold have been sold.
Properties
The Krugerrand is 32.6 mm in diameter and 2.74 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
karatThe carat is a measure of the purity of gold alloys. In the United States and Canada, the spelling karat is used, while the spelling carat is used to refer to the measure of mass for gemstones .- Measure :As a measure of purity, one carat is purity by mass:whereHistorically, in England the carat...
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
copperCopper 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 rather soft and malleable and a freshly-exposed surface has a pinkish or peachy color...
(an alloy known historically as
crown goldCrown gold is a 22 kt gold alloy, introduced in England for gold coin manufacture in 1526 . It is 22/24 = .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. Gold alloy coins are harder and more durable, so they can resist scratches and dents.
The Krugerrand is so named because the obverse bears the face of
BoerBoer is the Dutch word for farmer which came to denote the descendants of the proto Afrikaans-speaking pastoralists 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 KrugerStephanus 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 RepublicThe 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 SteynbergCoert Steynberg was a renowned South African sculptor who worked in stone, marble, bronze, copper and wood. His work is represented nationwide and internationally, including a Bartholomew Dias statue in South Africa House in London, a Andries Pretorius monument in Graaff-Reinet, and a Peace of...
, 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
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
(as can be seen on the pictures of the coin).
The word "Krugerrand" is a registered trade mark owned by
Rand Refinery LimitedThe Rand Refinery, located in Germiston in Gauteng, South Africa is the world’s largest gold refinery as well as being the only one on the African Continent...
, of
GermistonThis article is about Germiston in Gauteng, South Africa. For the Germiston in Scotland, see Germiston, Glasgow.Germiston is a city in the East Rand of Gauteng in South Africa...
, South Africa.
Specifications
| Denomination |
Diameter*
(mm) |
Thickness*
(mm) |
Weight
(gThe gram , ; symbol g, is a unit of mass.Originally defined as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure water equal to the cube of the hundredth part of a metre, and at the temperature of melting ice" , a gram is now defined as one one-thousandth of the SI base unit, the kilogram, or...
) |
Fineness |
Gold content |
Edge reeded |
| (g) |
(oz t The troy ounce is a unit of imperial measure. In the present day it is most commonly used to gauge the weight and therefore the price of precious metals....
) |
| 1 oz |
32.77 |
2.84 |
33.930 |
22 carat The carat is a measure of the purity of gold alloys. In the United States and Canada, the spelling karat is used, while the spelling carat is used to refer to the measure of mass for gemstones .- Measure :As a measure of purity, one carat is purity by mass:whereHistorically, in England the carat...
91.67% |
31.103 |
1.000 |
180 |
| 1/2 oz |
27.07 |
2.215 |
16.965 |
22 carat 91.67% |
15.552 |
0.500 |
150 |
| 1/4 oz |
22.06 |
1.888 |
8.482 |
22 carat 91.67% |
7.776 |
0.250 |
140 |
| 1/10 oz |
16.55 |
1.35 |
3.393 |
22 carat 91.67% |
3.110 |
0.100 |
115 |
| * Maximum dimensions |
Proof Krugerrands
The South African Mint Company produces limited edition
proofProof 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 180.
Silver "Krugerrand"
The Krugerrand is minted in gold for historical reasons. According to the "Tax Free Gold" website, there is no such a thing as a silver Krugerrand. Such coins "are not official, have no legal tender value, are not produced or sanctioned by the South Africa Mint or Government, not Krugerrands, and not even coins."
External links