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Krugerrand
The Krugerrand (/ˈkruːɡərænd/; Afrikaans: [ˈkry.ərˌrant]) is a South African coin, first minted on 3 July 1967 to help market South African gold and produced by Rand Refinery and the South African Mint. The name is a compound of Paul Kruger, the former President of the South African Republic (depicted on the obverse), and rand, the South African unit of currency. On the reverse side of the Krugerrand is a pronking springbok, South Africa's national animal.
By 1980, the Krugerrand accounted for more than 90% of the global gold coin market and was the number one choice for investors buying gold. However, during the 1980s and 1990s, Krugerrands fell out of favor as some Western countries forbade import of the Krugerrand because of its association with the apartheid government of South Africa.
Unlike virtually all other modern bullion coins, Krugerrands have no nominal face value. Yet they are considered legal tender in South Africa by the South African Reserve Bank Act (SARBA) of 1989 based solely on their gold content. This feature distinguishes them from contemporary sovereign bullion coins like the American gold eagle which have face values that are merely symbolic and far below the market value of their metal content. The Krugerrand’s "denomination" is therefore implicitly ‘one ounce of fine gold’ (or the fractional equivalent). The only significant historical parallel is the British gold sovereign, which likewise bears no face value but is legally recognized as one pound sterling.
To celebrate the Krugerraand's 50 year anniversary in 2017, the Rand Refinery began minting silver versions with the same overall design as the gold coin. According to the online collector database Numista, the non-commemorative, 1 oz silver bullion Krugerrands have been minted regularly ever since.
The Krugerrand was introduced in 1967 as a vehicle for private ownership of gold. Like most circulating gold coins from the pre-World War 1 era, the Krugerrand was minted in a 22k copper-gold alloy far more durable than pure gold. By 1980, the Krugerrand accounted for 90% of the global gold coin market. That year, South Africa introduced three smaller coins containing 1⁄2, 1⁄4, and 1⁄10 troy ounce (15.6, 7.8, and 3.1 g) of gold.
Economic sanctions against South Africa for its policy of apartheid made the Krugerrand an illegal import in many Western countries during the 1970s and 1980s, with the United States, which had historically been the largest market for the coin, banning imports in 1985: the previous year, over US$600 million of Krugerrands had been marketed in the country. Although gold coin imports could be sanctioned, gold imports could not be sanctioned more generally at the time, due to the West's reliance on South African gold production, so this did not have a great effect on the South African economy.
Most of these sanctions were removed in 1991 after the South African government took steps to end its apartheid policies.
By 2017, over 53 million troy ounces of gold Krugerrands have been sold since their launch in 1967, comprising more than 60 million individual coins (including bullion and fractional sizes).
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Krugerrand
The Krugerrand (/ˈkruːɡərænd/; Afrikaans: [ˈkry.ərˌrant]) is a South African coin, first minted on 3 July 1967 to help market South African gold and produced by Rand Refinery and the South African Mint. The name is a compound of Paul Kruger, the former President of the South African Republic (depicted on the obverse), and rand, the South African unit of currency. On the reverse side of the Krugerrand is a pronking springbok, South Africa's national animal.
By 1980, the Krugerrand accounted for more than 90% of the global gold coin market and was the number one choice for investors buying gold. However, during the 1980s and 1990s, Krugerrands fell out of favor as some Western countries forbade import of the Krugerrand because of its association with the apartheid government of South Africa.
Unlike virtually all other modern bullion coins, Krugerrands have no nominal face value. Yet they are considered legal tender in South Africa by the South African Reserve Bank Act (SARBA) of 1989 based solely on their gold content. This feature distinguishes them from contemporary sovereign bullion coins like the American gold eagle which have face values that are merely symbolic and far below the market value of their metal content. The Krugerrand’s "denomination" is therefore implicitly ‘one ounce of fine gold’ (or the fractional equivalent). The only significant historical parallel is the British gold sovereign, which likewise bears no face value but is legally recognized as one pound sterling.
To celebrate the Krugerraand's 50 year anniversary in 2017, the Rand Refinery began minting silver versions with the same overall design as the gold coin. According to the online collector database Numista, the non-commemorative, 1 oz silver bullion Krugerrands have been minted regularly ever since.
The Krugerrand was introduced in 1967 as a vehicle for private ownership of gold. Like most circulating gold coins from the pre-World War 1 era, the Krugerrand was minted in a 22k copper-gold alloy far more durable than pure gold. By 1980, the Krugerrand accounted for 90% of the global gold coin market. That year, South Africa introduced three smaller coins containing 1⁄2, 1⁄4, and 1⁄10 troy ounce (15.6, 7.8, and 3.1 g) of gold.
Economic sanctions against South Africa for its policy of apartheid made the Krugerrand an illegal import in many Western countries during the 1970s and 1980s, with the United States, which had historically been the largest market for the coin, banning imports in 1985: the previous year, over US$600 million of Krugerrands had been marketed in the country. Although gold coin imports could be sanctioned, gold imports could not be sanctioned more generally at the time, due to the West's reliance on South African gold production, so this did not have a great effect on the South African economy.
Most of these sanctions were removed in 1991 after the South African government took steps to end its apartheid policies.
By 2017, over 53 million troy ounces of gold Krugerrands have been sold since their launch in 1967, comprising more than 60 million individual coins (including bullion and fractional sizes).
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