2017-03-22 Wed

The 50th anniversary of the gold Krugerrand is celebrated by the South African Mint by releasing its first-ever 1 oz silver Krugerrand after 49 years. Apart from that, 1 oz platinum 10 rand Krugerrand and new sizes of the gold coin are also being released.

The famous South African Krugerrand was known as a gold coin since 1967, it is considered as the first bullion coin. South Africa topped world gold production by the late 1960s. The global economy saw a complete downfall after the Bretton Woods Conference at the end of World War II. The international monetary system would be dependent on dollars the United States dollar would be backed by gold. South African Mint and the Rand Refinery created the bullion coin after they realised that this system of dollars would end soon and the gold standard would be introduced.

The obverse featured a portrait of the 20th-century president of the South African Republic Paul Kruger. The reverse featured a national symbol of South Africa, a springbok. It had no face value and had a floated value based on the metal's value. The gold Krugerrand was made of one troy ounce of 22-karat (.9167 fine) gold, like British Gold Sovereigns which were accepted widely in world trade. A little bit of copper made the coin durable and gave it a unique orange-gold colour. The coin was such a big success that other countries like Canada and Mexico also released bullion coins. 50 million ounces of gold Krugerrands have been sold till now.

The 2017 version is made using Computer-assisted technology and laser etching to enhance the dies and create a sharper version of the classic design. The coins are available in Proof and Premium Uncirculated finishes. The obverse of the new coin is like the 1892 South African gold pond coin featuring a portrait of President Paul Kruger with a long beard, connected sideburns without a moustache. Other inscriptions include SUID AFRICA and SOUTH AFRICA with a small diamond in between. The reverse of the new coin features a springbok, the inscription KRUGERRAND, the 50th anniversary privy mark, FYNSILWER 1 OZ FINE SILVER R1 and the year 2017. It is the first Krugerrands with a face value.

The mintage limit of the 2017 1 Rand 31.1 g .999 Silver coin is 1,000,000. The edge of the coin is reeded.