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, denominated as Ten Rand (R 10) is part of the first series of South African coloured coins by the South African Mint, which celebrates Africa’s unique natural heritage and depicts various colourful birds and plants. It features an orange-breasted sunbird (a species of South African birds).
In celebration of the rich diversity of the Kogelberg Biosphere, the South African Mint has, for the first time, launched a new colour coin range in 2016 to showcase its staggering beauty. The range contains four coins; two R5 sterling-silver 1 oz coins depicting the flora and two R10 sterling-silver 1 oz coins depicting the bird life of the UNESCO Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve. |
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The obverse features a map of South Africa, with the Western Cape province in the South-West of the country marked on the map, and the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve within the province enlarged, positioned relative to the ATLANTIC OCEAN.
Vertically in three lines in the left part of the obverse, the legend SOUTH AFRICA and the date of issue 2016, over a compass rose showing the cardinal directions on the map.
Under the S of South Africa, the initials of the die-sinker MD (MD Mothobela); the artist was L Guerra. |
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| Reverse | |
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The reverse of this sterling-silver coin shows a colourised orange-breasted sunbird (Anthobaphes violacea), a species of bird endemic to the fynbos habitat of southwestern South Africa.
The value and denomination R 10 (Ten Rand) are to the right of the bird, below which on two lines the species name in Latin: ANTHOBAPHES VIOLACEA.
The content: 1 oz Ag925 Cu75 is around below (Ag is abbreviated from Argentum, which means "silver" in Latin and is used internationally on silver bullion coinage; Cu is for copper). To the left of that, in small letters, the initials of the die-sinker VLC (for VL Chipa); the artist was JA Geldenhuys. |
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