South African Gold Coins
South Africa Gold Pond
T he Sovereign had a tremendous increase in popularity in the latter half of the nineteenth century. To accommodate the rising demand, branch mints were set up all around the world, including one of them in Pretoria, South Africa. Just over 18 million Sovereigns were produced there at its peak in 1928, each bearing the mint mark "SA" to distinguish it from the comparable coins produced in London. Perhaps more famous though, is the South African Gold 1 Pond coin
South Africa's Gold pond is a great choice for foreign low-premium gold currency collectors
Yet, the Pretoria branch mint was not where South Africa's history of gold coinage began. The discovery of significant gold reserves in South Africa, known as the Witwatersrand gold rush, in 1885 marked the beginning of the nation's transformation from an agrarian economy to Africa's richest and most developed nation
Then, in 1892, the new national Mint in Pretoria was inaugurated on the president of South Africa's orders, Paul Kruger, and a new currency was produced whose effect is still felt today across the world
The Dutch guilder and the German mark were preferred by Dutch and German members of the government, respectively, but it was ultimately agreed to base the new gold currency on the British Sovereign, which at the time was the most significant coin in the world.
The new gold coin, which had the same specifications as the British Sovereign and had a face value of one pond, was given the name Kruger Pond in honour of the President of South Africa, and it was produced there from 1892 to 1900
The Second Boer War's end caused the Pretoria Mint to cease operations and close temporarily until a Royal Mint branch there was established. It was more than 60 years later before another native South African coin was minted: The Krugerrand
Sixty-seven years on from the cessation of the Pretoria Mint, it was decided to manufacture a one-ounce gold coin in order to promote South African bullion. In search of inspiration, it was decided to draw from the Kruger gold mine again, and the now-famous Krugerrand still features Paul Kruger's portrait on the obverse, just like the original issues from the 1890s
Burgers Pond
Mintage: 695Live Buy Now | Live Sell Back | |
|---|---|---|
- | £3,642.86 | |
Veld Pond
Mintage: 530Live Buy Now | Live Sell Back | |
|---|---|---|
- | £2,875.94 | |
South African Ponds are minted in 22-carat gold and are legally considered investment gold in the UK. That means that they are exempt from VAT for non-VAT registered private individuals in the UK and EU. This is a great perk associated with gold bullion purchases making them an attractive investment option
Thomas Burgers was the second president of the Republic. The Burgers Pond is extremely rare because Burgers failed to convince parliament that this design should be used for the nation's Gold coins
This led to the coins that had already been struck to be sold off to the public at twice face value. What was once practically worthless has now become a highly sought-after collectible that many foreign currency Gold coin collectors will not see in their lifetime
The Veld Pond is a piece that most rare coin collectors will not know exists, only 530 pieces are known. Their value is derived from their rarity but also the history behind the coin given how this was an important period for South Africa
The Veld Pond was struck during the final year of the second Boer War by Boer forces that were fleeing from British forces. The coin is named after the pop-up Mint which was set up in the veld (long grass) of Pilgrims Rest in Transvaal
The Veld Pond, also referred to as the Pilgrims Rest Coin is remarkedly valuable despite its rudimentary strike. The coin has been known to fetch five-figures when sold in mint state
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