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Krugerrand

South Africa
Value	1 troy oz. fine gold
Mass	33.93 g (1.09 troy oz)
Diameter	32.6 mm (1.28 in)
Thickness	2.84 mm (0.11 in)
Composition	Gold (91.67% Au, 8.33% Cu)
Years of minting	1967-Present
Obverse
Design	1967 by Otto Schultz - Profile of Paul Kruger with "SUID-AFRIKA·SOUTH AFRICA" in the legend.
Reverse
Design	1967 by Coert Steynberg - A springbok antelope with the mint date in the field. The legend is inscribed with "KRUGERRAND" and the gold weight.

The Krugerrand is a South African 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 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 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.^[1]

History[link]

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 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.^[2][3][4]

By 1980 the Krugerrand accounted for 90% of the global gold coin market.^[5] That year South Africa introduced three smaller coins with a half ounce, quarter ounce, and tenth ounce of gold.^[6]

Through 2008, Krugerrand coins containing 46 million ounces of gold have been sold.^[7]

Variations and imitations[link]

The success of the Krugerrand led to many other gold-producing nations minting their own bullion coins, such as the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf 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 design of 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 cannot technically be considered coins.

Properties[link]

The Krugerrand depicts President Paul Kruger on the obverse with the name of the issuing country in both Afrikaans and English appearing in the legend, while the reverse depicts a springbok antelope with the mint date in the field.

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 karats), 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,^[8] 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.

Legal Tender[link]

The Kruger Rand remains legal tender in South Africa, and is accepted at the majority of businesses throughout the Republic. Banks will exchange the Kruger Rand for South African Rands at the per fine ounce value for Gold on a given day.

Nominally, the 1 Troy oz. Kruger Rand had a value of R1000 in 1984, though this is now closer to R7800 (as of 2012), in accounting for inflation and devaluation of the Rand in relation to the US Dollar - however, allowing for these factors, the purchasing power of the Kruger Rand remains essentially unchanged.

Purchases by consumers using Kruger Rands is not commonplace in South Africa, but posession of these coins remains wholly legal. For this reason, speculators and investors both within and outside of the Republic do prefer to accumulate them as a means of building up a resource of bullion (see sections above and below, and hyperlink references to Gold as investment)

Proof Krugerrands[link]

Krugerrands are a popular way to invest in gold.

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.^[9]

Counterfeiting[link]

The Krugerrand is a "protected coin" for the purposes of Part II of the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, and so is any coin denominated as a fraction of a Krugerrand.^[10]

References[link]

• Rand Refinery Krugerrand page
• Brochure from the Rand Refinery & MintPDF (999 KB)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Krugerrand

Numismatics portal

• The official website of The South African Mint

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