The South African Mint - A Brief History

After gold was discovered in 1886 near the Witwatersrand region of Johannesburg, then President Paul Kruger saw a need for South Africa to start minting its own coinage. The National Bank of the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek (South African Republic) was established in 1890 and began minting operations in Church Square in Pretoria.

The mint ceased operation when the British occupied Pretoria at the turn of the 20th century. Members of the banking and mining industries felt that South Africa would benefit greatly by having its own refinery and mint. After numerous requests, the Pretoria Mint Act of 1919 provided for the establishment of the Royal Mint. In October 1923 the first gold pound was minted at the Royal Mint in Pretoria.

Many changes were in line for South Africa in the 1960s as it received its independence from the British Commonwealth. British coin denominations were used until South Africa became a Republic in 1961. A new decimal coin system was released and all coins were converted to their decimal equivalent. British sovereigns were replaced by R2 (Two Rand) coins. The R1 (One Rand) replaced the half sovereign. These were the first gold bullion coins in South Africa's history.

In 1964 the concept of a gold bullion coin for the mass market was developed. The gold Krugerrand was intended as an investment vehicle for the average man, its value solely derived from its weight in gold. This concept would prove very effective and would later be adopted by many other gold producing nations.

Coin mintage continued using the same sizes for coinage until a parliamentary committee determined that British coins were too bulky. This paved the way for the development of a new coin series in 1965.

The 1980s saw deregulation by the South African Government and the South African Mint was privatized. Today it is run as subsidiary of the (S.A.R.B) South African Reserve Bank.