Silver Ounce 2016 Cheetah, Coin from South Africa - detailed information

South Africa pioneered modern bullion coinage when it first issued the Krugerrand on 3 July 1967 to help market South African gold; it is the first modern bullion coin and is still issued today.

Gradually, the South African Mint started diversifying the range, first by issuing fractional Krugerrands, then by introducing different designs and metals, such as a silver one-ounce (1 oz) format. These include silver 1 oz Krugerrands, the Protea series, the Natura series, as well as one-year types that do not fall into a particular series. Some are made of Sterling silver (92.5%) alloyed with copper, just like the British pre-decimal Crown coins, and some are 99.9% silver. The Sterling versions are overall heavier though, so they also contain exactly one ounce of pure silver or 1oz Absolute Silver Weight (1.000 oz ASW); they are called "Crowns" in the "Crown and Tickey" coin sets in which some of them are issued, and are officially denominated as two, five or ten Rands.

This coin featuring a Cheetah is part of the Big Cats series by the South African Mint, consisting of four 24-carat gold coins, namely a R200 (1 oz), R100 (1/2 oz), R50 (1/4 oz) and R20 (1/10 oz), and a sterling-silver R2 (1 oz) crown. Africa’s big cats are celebrated on this coin series issued in collaboration with the "National Geographic Big Cats Initiative".

This project endeavours to support on-the-ground conservation and education projects combined with global public awareness campaigns to counteract the big cat population’s rapid decline due to habitat loss and degradation as well as conflict with humans.

The word "cheetah" is derived from the Hindi word "chita" meaning "spotted one". The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is the fastest land animal, able to reach speeds of up to 120 km/h. These predators rely primarily on sight to hunt.