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Business Insider reported that "a set of five two-rand coins as well as a five-rand coin will be released into circulation over coming months," to commemorate South Africa's 25 years of democracy.
In this article it is revealed that the "South African Mint together with the South African Reserve Bank, said in a statement that the new coins were launched 'to reinvigorate national pride'".
The new R2 and R5 coins depict various themes of South Africa's Constitutional democracy, which Business Tech reports are the rights that "resonated the most with citizens that were surveyed in South Africa".
Business Tech also shared SARB governor Lesetya Kganyago's statement about how this is the "first time in the history of the SARB and the South African Mint that South Africans were consulted to this extent in developing coin themes and designs."
Adding to the historical significance of these coins is the fact that three South African women were selected to design them - Neo Mahlangu, Laura Windvogel a.k.a Lady Skollie and Maaike Bakker.
Meet these phenomenal illustrators/visual artists and their coins:
Lady Skollie
About: This Cape Town-born visual artist, feminist and activist is admired for humour, wit and all-round ballsy attitude. Her work focuses on gender, sexuality, sex, desire and consent.
Lady Skollie designed the new R5 coin titled 'Let us live and strive for freedom', which is symbolised by the image of a snaking queue to the voting polls.
READ MORE: Lady Skollie is the face of Marianne Fassler's latest campaign - and it's boudoir-licious
Neo Mahlangu
About: Neo Mahlangu is a Johannesburg-based designer who "plays on the boundary between socially aware fine art and stylish digital creations," as her Design Indaba profile reads. Neo also recently collaborated with MRP Home to create a blanket you might find in many South African homes soon.
She has designed two R2 coins - 'Children’s Rights' and 'Right to Education' with the latter coin portraying the three phases of education.
Maaike Bakker
About: Pretoria-born Maaike Bakker's website describes her as a visual artist who works with "various drawing, sculpture and installation based mediums".
Maaike's coin gives a nod to environmental rights as it depicts a droplet of water, grass and a fish to "highlight the idea of a well-balanced, protected environment".
The new R5 coin by Lady Skollie will be released in August, while Maaike Bakker's coin will be released in July, and Neo Mahlangu's coins will be released this month. We're looking forward to a South Africa where the money we'll be spending will have women's work stamped on it.
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