Krugerrand - The oldest bullion coin

Krugerrand is the oldest bullion coin. South Africa topped world gold production by the late 1960s. The Krugerrand was first minted by the South African Mint on 3rd July 1967, at a time when the price of the noble metal was very high. It deviates from the contemporary design of bullion coins.  At that time, the concept of minting a coin with the weight of an investment unit (say, “one ounce”) was new and innovative. It provided small investors who could not afford to purchase the standard 12.44-kilogram gold ingots, an opportunity to purchase small units of gold.  

The Krugerrand coin was initially referred to as a “Trojan” in reference to one Troy ounce (oz) of gold content. The public was then invited to suggest a new name for the one-ounce coin, and Mr. Maré came up with the name Krugerrand, combining President Paul Kruger, and the name of the newly introduced currency rand(introduced in 1961).

Since 1967, the Krugerrand has been South Africa’s legal tender and serves mostly as a tax-free investment, its price determined on the global market with the price of gold fixed on a daily basis. No one had anticipated the runaway success of the Krugerrand gold bullion coin. More than 50 million pieces have been sold in just five decades

The Krugerrand was the first investment coin on sale in Germany and worldwide. It was going strong till 1986.  In 1986, due to the lasting apartheid policy in South Africa, the European Community and the USA boycotted South African products and imposed an import ban of the Krugerrand. This led to the complete crash of the Krugerrand market. Slowly other coins like Gold Maple Leafs, Chinese Pandas, American Gold Eagles started to emerge.

From 1986-1999, the Krugerrand became a Collector’s item only and lost its bullion market, hence its mintages were reduced to a minimum. In 1999, the import ban was lifted on the Krugerrand and the Krugerrand slowly started regaining its popularity in 2000, however, it could not regain its sole monopoly.

In 2017, Krugerrand turned 50. Sapo (South African Post) issued a set of 3 stamps to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Krugerrand, the oldest bullion coin to be minted.  The 3 stamps depict the development of the Krugerrand in three stages - 1967 (1st minted), 2000(rise after a fall), and 2017 (50th anniversary). The coin designs are relief embossed onto gold foiling.  The stamp depicted the Springbok antelope, which is the heraldic/national animal of South Africa.