2017-06-06 Tue

Two new South African silver coins celebrate the world’s first heart transplant, which is a medical milestone. Two silver coins from the South African Mint commemorate the 50th anniversary of the world’s first heart transplant in 1967. The pair of Proof .925 fine silver coins help showcase the complex procedure of the whole operation, with a 2.5-cent tickey coin, depicting a healthy heart, fitting on top of a 2-rand coin depicting a heart that needs replacement.

A healthy heart and a textured heart wall are depicted on the reverse of the 2.5-cent tickey. To showcase the heart’s healthy condition, a frosting is added. Also on this side are the face value, metal fineness, and the initials CNB of the chief surgeon from 1967, Dr. Christian Neethling Barnard.

The upper portion of the human anatomy is displayed on the reverse of the 2-rand coin. All the details of the skeleton, epidermis, veins and organs of the torso are shown. It also includes the heart and the liver, even the puffy pillow like tubing of the large and small intestines.

The unhealthy part of the heart includes fat deposits, dying muscle and an area of blocked blood flow. A prominent circle indicates the position of the heart and serves as placeholder for the small tickey coin.

The anniversary date of the procedure appears on the reverse, with inscriptions denoting the face value and FIRST HEART TRANSPLANT.

South Africa’s national flower, king protea is depicted on the obverse of the 2.5-cent tickey.

The obverse of the 2-rand coin bears the coat of arms of the Republic of South Africa with the name of South Africa in eleven official languages of the country.

The 2.5-cent tickey contains 1.3 grams of pure silver and the 2-rand coin contains a full ounce of pure silver.

In total, 1,000 coins of each denomination are available for individual sales. A maximum of 700 sets are available.