South African Coins

The first one- and two-Rand coins were issued when South Africa became a republic and introduced the Rand as its national currency in 1961, after the referendum of November 1960 which established autonomy from the British Empire. The R1 and R2 were gold bullion coins that replaced the half-Pound and Pound gold coins introduced in 1952. Both the Pound and the Rand gold coins matched the specifications of the British half-Sovereign and Sovereign, including the fineness of 22 karat (91.67%). The gold Rand coins were minted until 1983, while they were gradually replaced by the Krugerrand, which was first struck on 3 July 1967. The iconic Krugerrand, regarded by many as the coin that started modern gold coin collecting, celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2017.