South African Rand Coins – Donation by Cliff Gundle,

Cape Town was founded in 1652. That was the beginning of the immigration of white settlers to , mostly of Dutch origin, called . Towards the end of the 18th century, however, the Brits began to occupy the Cape region, and in 1806, the Cape became a British colony. When conflicts between the Brits and the Boers started to escalate in the 1830's, many Boers left the on the , an exhausting journey up north, where they founded the and .

The discovery of diamonds and was of great economic importance for the colonies of the Boers. These finds drew thousands of gold seekers and adventurers – mostly of British origin – into the country. The economic importance of the North increased, which was the reason for , the prime minister of the Cape Colony, to subdue the three Boer republics under British rule. During the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) the Brits conquered and Transvaal. Some years later (1910) the Cape Colony and the republics , Orange Free State and Transvaal were united to the Union of .

The following Coin Tour recounts the , from the first colonization to the foundation of the republic in 1961. Because coinage set in rather late in South Africa, the MoneyMuseum shows this development on the basis of the modern coins.

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Republic of South Africa, 1 Rand 1980

Denomination: 1 Rand Mint Authority: Republic of South Africa Mint: (Tshwane) Year of Issue: 1980 Weight (g): 3.9 Diameter (mm): 20.0 Material: Gold Owner: Schenkung

In 1652, the Dutchman , employee of the , was sent to the South African cape to establish a way station for ships traveling from Europe to the Dutch East Indies. He founded , the first permanent European settlement on South African soil. In the following decades Dutch Calvinists, German colonists and from 1689 also French Huguenot refugees settled in and around Cape Town.

At the beginning of the Great Britain conquered the Cape Colony and enacted comprehensive legal and political reforms. English was declared as official language, and British law was introduced. The monies circulating within the Cape Colony – Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Indian gold and silver coins – were replaced by British coins. In 1825, the British was made official legal tender.

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Republic of South Africa, 1 Rand 1980

Denomination: 1 Rand Mint Authority: Republic of South Africa Mint: Pretoria (Tshwane) Year of Issue: 1980 Weight (g): Diameter (mm): 30.0 Material: Others Owner: Schenkung

When the Dutch East India Company established Cape Town in 1652, it did not think of founding a colony on the South African . Cape Town was meant to provide a sheltered harbor for the ships of the company, to stock up provisions and to care for ailing travelers. But as the flow of trade increased, the demand for provisions grew. This made it soon profitable to grow crops and breed cattle around Cape Town itself. Thus the white settlers on the cape mainly lived on agriculture and livestock farming. They called themselves Afrikaner or Boers.

The early settlers did not mint coins at the South African cape. The first Dutch colonists had brought some coins from home, and that was sufficient in the beginning. With the increase of trade, coins from all over the world made their way to the cape. In 1802 some guilders were struck in the Netherlands for South Africa, but they never made it to the goal. When the British took over power in 1806, British coins became the official currency of the Cape Colony.

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Republic of South Africa, 50 Cents 1980

Denomination: 50 Cent Mint Authority: Republic of South Africa Mint: Pretoria (Tshwane) Year of Issue: 1980 Weight (g): Diameter (mm): 27.0 Material: Others Owner: Schenkung

When the Brits annexed the South African Cape Colony in 1806, they found an established settlement with about 25,000 slaves, 20,000 white colonists, 15,000 Khoikhoi and coloured. Power resided solely with a white elite in Cape Town. Of the whites about 80 percent were Boers, orthodox and godly, in a pastoral world enrooted people. Differentiation on the basis of race was deeply entrenched and strictly observed.

With the rising number of British immigrants, the Boers lost their dominant position, however. A pattern soon emerged whereby English speakers became highly urbanized, and dominated politics, trade, finance, mining and manufacturing, while the largely uneducated Boers were relegated to their farms. Hence to back out of the British sphere of power, many Boers retreated to the hinterlands. In 1835 thousands of Boers decided to trek off into the interior in search of greater independence.

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Republic of South Africa, 20 Cents 1980

Denomination: 20 Cent Mint Authority: Republic of South Africa Mint: Pretoria (Tshwane) Year of Issue: 1980 Weight (g): Diameter (mm): 24.0 Material: Others Owner: Schenkung

Around the mid-19th century the economy of the British Cape Colony in South Africa began to boom. The mining of copper was being established, and the manufacturing of merino wool introduced. The former Boer republic Natal became a British colony. At the beginning of the 1860s the harbor of was extended and the railway from Cape Town to Wellington was built. It was a time of awakening in southern Africa. At last in 1872, the Cape Colony attained internal self-government from Great Britain. This was the first step towards an independent state of South Africa.

At that time the Cape Colony used mainly British currency; besides, Spanish pesos were popular means of payment. To pay for small amounts, tokens were used; they are known in various designs. Additionally towards the end of the 19th century, the government of the Cape Colony made plans to mint its own coins. Only patterns were issued though, all in denominations.

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Republic of South Africa, 10 Cents 1980

Denomination: 10 Cent Mint Authority: Republic of South Africa Mint: Pretoria (Tshwane) Year of Issue: 1980 Weight (g): Diameter (mm): 21.0 Material: Others Owner: Schenkung

In 1835 thousands of white South African farmers packed their belongings on wagons and set off towards the north. In 1842, they founded the Orange Free State north of the , and in 1852 the Transvaal republic. There, the Boers lived according to their beliefs – as self-supporters who had their lands and cattle worked by slaves.

At the end of the 1860s the discovery of rich natural resources in the Boer republics turned the Boers' world on its head. In 1869 diamonds were found near the Orange River, and in 1886 a tremendous lode of gold was located in the Transvaal republic. These finds led to the immigration of countless workers and adventurers to the Boer republics. Under the presidency of , Transvaal refused to bestow the "" (foreigners) with equal legal and political rights.

This provided Great Britain with the pretext to appoint itself as lawyer for the "uitlanders" and to take action against the independence of the Boer republics. The genuine interest of the Brits lay with the treasures of the soil, however. Hence in the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) the Boer republics were annexed and incorporated into the British colonial empire.

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Republic of South Africa, 5 Cents 1980

Denomination: 5 Cent Mint Authority: Republic of South Africa Mint: Pretoria (Tshwane) Year of Issue: 1980 Weight (g): Diameter (mm): 18.0 Material: Others Owner: Schenkung

Naturally the Boers could not carry on against the highly armed British troops in the long run. In 1902 the last of the Boers surrendered and the ended with the Treaty of . The two Boer republics Transvaal (also called ) and Orange Free State were integrated into the . In other respects, however, the Boers were conceded generous conditions of peace. They obtained the rights of British citizens, and was acknowledged as official language.

In the last year of the war the Boers of the Transvaal had minted gold coins. On the run from the overwhelming British forces they had struck 986 pieces of so-called veld ponds – coined by hand on a makeshift mint set up in the fields. The obverse of the veld ponds bore the intricated letters ZAR (Zuid- Afrikaansche Republiek) and the date 1902, while the reverse denoted the value EEN POND. Of these very rare coins many forgeries are in circulation today – so be aware of "bargains"!

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Republic of South Africa, 2 Cents 1980

Denomination: 2 Cent Mint Authority: Republic of South Africa Mint: Pretoria (Tshwane) Year of Issue: 1980 Weight (g): Diameter (mm): 23.0 Material: Copper Owner: Schenkung

In 1910 the two former Boer republics Transvaal and Orange Free State were united with the British dominated and Natal to form the . As self-governed British , the new union remained under the crown of the British Empire. Accordingly Great Britain still delivered the coins South Africa needed. They bore the bust of the English king on their obverse, together with the title REX IMPERATOR. The reverse showed the name SOUTH AFRICA – ZUID AFRIKA.

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Republic of South Africa, 1 Cent 1980

Denomination: 1 Cent Mint Authority: Republic of South Africa Mint: Pretoria (Tshwane) Year of Issue: 1980 Weight (g): Diameter (mm): 18.0 Material: Copper Owner: Schenkung

The state of South Africa issued its first coins in 1923. They bore the image of the British King George V on their obverse, as South Africa was a member of the British Commonwealth at that time. Accordingly the South African currency was geared to the British pound – one pound was divided into 20 or 240 pence. It was a currency system that had been invented about 1,100 years earlier by Charlemagne.

In the early 1960s the South African Union left the Commonwealth of Nations and in 1961 established the Republic of South Africa. The same year, the rand was introduced as new currency. The name "rand" derives from the , the region where most of South Africa's gold deposits are located – deposits that make South Africa the most important source of gold worldwide.

The rand did not follow the British currency any more, but was divided decimally: one rand equaled 100 cents. The first rand coins were issued in gold; since 1965, the rand was struck in silver, and from 1979 it was made from nickel.

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Republic of South Africa, 2 Rand 1980

Denomination: 2 Rand Mint Authority: Republic of South Africa Mint: Pretoria (Tshwane) Year of Issue: 1980 Weight (g): 7.98 Diameter (mm): 23.0 Material: Gold Owner: Schenkung

The characteristic motif on South African coins is the springbok, the nation's heraldic animal. The springbok is also the emblem of diverse sport teams in South Africa – after all, it runs with a speed of about 55 miles (90 kilometers) per hour and leaps up to 11.5 feet (3.5 meters). It is thus not amazing that South Africa's national rugby team has adopted the nickname "the Springboks."

After the abolition of there were discussions in South Africa whether the springbok as symbol for the national rugby team was still acceptable, since it had been the emblem of the white minority rule. At that point, Nelson Mandela, the first black president of South Africa, piped up. He announced that he had excitedly followed the games of the Springboks while being imprisoned, and had always hoped for their victory. This set an abrupt end to the discussions.

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