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Know your nation: the history of the Krugerrand

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The Krugerrand

The Krugerrand is a gold coin containing one full troy ounce of gold, as well as a small amount of copper, or “crown gold”, to give the Krugerrand its distinctive colour. The Krugerrand was first minted in 1967 as a way for South Africa to encourage private ownership of gold. The coin was declared “legal tender”, or currency, by the South African government, which made it easy to trade and export.

By 1980, the Krugerrand accounted for more than 90% of the global coin market, and was the number one choice for investors buying gold. During the economic sanctions against South Africa
in the 1980s, Krugerrand sales dropped, but more than 20 million coins were imported into the US alone.

The Krugerrand gets its name from the depiction of Paul Kruger on the face of the coin. Kruger was the president of the South African Republic from 1883 to 1900. Kruger was in many ways “the George Washington of South Africa”, in that he was instrumental in breaking the country away from colonial British rule.

On the reverse side of the Krugerrand is a springbok, South Africa’s national animal.

Buy the book for R90 at CNA, Exclusive Books, Spar, Makro or takealot.com

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