3. The most revered coins of South Africa –
The Krugerpond Een Pond and Half Pond 1892 – 1900

The coins that are most revered as a group and hold enormous affection amongst collectors and investors in South Africa are the famed Krugerponde (Krugerpounds). They have become famous because of that ever widening and great mystery of the hidden ‘Kruger Millions’. This treasure is said to consist of hidden gold and coins worth more than US $400,000,000 in today’s terms. The rough location of the treasure is rumoured to be in or around the world famous Kruger National Park. This was President Kruger’s favourite place. The gold was said to be hidden in the event of President Kruger’s possible return when he was exiled by the British. Many say that this is just a legend, but we at S A COIN believe that the coins and the gold are out there somewhere! These coins were South Africa’s very first indigenous, commercially used currency. They are the backbone of the entire numismatic market in South Africa.


The coin on the left is the famed 'Krugerpound' and the 'Blank' (round disk prior to being stamped as a coin) on the right are what you would find in their thousands if you discovered the 'Kruger Millions'. In addition to these you would also discover several tonnes of gold bars.
President Kruger was a man much larger than life itself. In fact his Autobiography ‘The memoirs of Paul Kruger by Paul Kruger’ is a fascinating insight into the life and times of a man that was a lion and giant amongst men.

A giraffe drinking at one of the many waterholes at the world famous Kruger National Park, established by Paul Kruger himself. He was years ahead of his time, even before the word 'conservationist' existed.
A leopard with her new born cub. A white rhino takes a good stare at the cameraman.
Two young lion cubs playing on the tree. A granite hill known as a 'koppie' in Afrikaans, with a troop of baboons surveying the countryside

The discovery of the 'Kruger Millions' would uncover tonnes of gold bars like these.
It would be one of the largest treasure discoveries in the history of the world.
President Kruger was a very strong and physically imposing man, with a very agile mind. He was also notoriously stubborn. A story is told that the President, whilst out on a hunting trip, had his rifle explode in his hands. One of his thumbs was severely damaged. President Kruger placed the damaged thumb into his mouth, took out his knife and cut it off. He was truly a man of huge and unusual courage!

To try and make the ZAR more independent and bereft of British interference, President Kruger realised that it was essential for the ZAR to have its own bank and coinage.

The discovery of gold at Barberton in 1882-1885 had an enormous effect on the ZAR. It was here where 10 000 foreign prospectors converged. The later discovery of the main reef of gold at Witwatersrand also had a huge impact on the country. The discovery of gold did not make President Kruger a happy man. He knew that such wealth would attract British interest and he dealt with the news of the discovery with much foreboding. This showed the tremendous insight that this man had. He had seen the Boer War before it had even begun.

A treasure protected by what could be 'Man eating lions' if presented with the opportunity.
What better place to hide tons of gold treasure!
He in fact had this to say about the discovery of gold “Do not talk to me of gold, the element which brings more dissention, misfortune and unexpected plagues in its trial than benefits. Pray to God, as I am doing, that the curse connected with its coming may not overshadow our dear land just after it has come again to us and our children; pray and implore Him that has stood by us, that He will continue to do so, for I tell you today that every ounce of gold taken from the bowels of our soil will yet be weighed up with rivers of tears, with the life-blood of thousands of our best people in the defence of that same soil from the lust of others yearning for it solely because it is a yellow metal in abundance…”

President Kruger was years ahead of his time. In an era where the word conservation was unknown, this man created one of the world’s largest animal parks. Today, the Kruger National Park is famous throughout the world. What better place to hide hundreds of millions of dollars worth of gold, than in a place inhabited by man eating lions! Rangers regularly find the footprints of illegal immigrants which suddenly disappear, only to be replaced by the paw-prints of lions!

Kruger National Park Statue of President Paul Kruger or "Oom Paul" as he was known.
This statue is situated at one of the entrances to the world famous park.
The building that houses De Nationale Bank and the State Mint in Pretoria.
It soon became clear that the largest goldfields in the world had been discovered. This lead to tremendous prosperity and greatly enriched the ZAR. All the while, Kruger feared that this success would be short-lived, as the British began to eye the riches of the ZAR. Kruger would soon take on his most powerful, single adversary, namely Cecil John Rhodes. Rhodes was one of the most ruthless businessmen that the world has ever known.

In 1891, the ZAR established a bank and a mint. They were housed in a building on one of the corners of Church Square in Pretoria. The cornerstone of the building was laid by Paul Kruger himself – a sign of the esteem and pride that this new institution was regarded with.
The State Mint in Pretoria
In 1891, the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek passed the ‘Mint Act’. This lead to the Republic’s own coinage. The money was based on the British coinage of the time: The Pound and Half Pound in gold; the Crown, Half Crown, Florin, Shilling, Sixpence and Tickey in silver; Penny, Half Penny and Quarter Penny in bronze. The last two coins were never minted and the weight of the coins was identical to that of their British counterparts.

Opening of De Nationale Bank der Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek by President Paul Kruger in 1891.
It was a time of great pressure for President Kruger as it was time for re-election. He had two challengers who were well regarded throughout the republic. They were General Joubert and Chief Justice Kotze.

President Kruger came up with what he thought was a brilliant strategy. He decided that the quick introduction of coins into the republic would be an excellent public-relations manoeuvre. With his image on the coins, it would make him appear more Presidential than ever and he would be in the running for re-election. As the saying goes, history repeats itself and President Kruger should have considered the President Burgers’ situation a few years earlier.

The events that followed almost led to him losing the election. The mint was not in full operation and President Kruger was impatient to have the coins minted. He hurriedly arranged for the coins to be minted at the Kaisermint (Emperor Mint) in Berlin, Germany so that the first issue could be ready in 1892 in time for the elections.

Cecil John Rhodes was one of the most ruthless businessmen of all time. Paul Kruger had this to say about Rhodes.


" Only four people that I fear: God, the Devil, de la Rey for his enourmous strength and his quick tongue and - daardie verdomde Engelsman (that damned Englishman) Rhodes!"

Soon after the first issue of the coins appeared, pandemonium erupted. President Kruger’s political opponents seized upon the fact that there was an error on the coins. The Germans had put a Continental wagon on the coins instead of the Voortrekker wagon. The difference between the two is that the Continental wagon has front and back wheels of the same size and two poles or shafts. Horses or cattle were placed between the shafts to pull the wagon. The Voortrekker wagon was traditionally tented and had a small wheel in the front and a larger wheel at the back, with a single pole or shaft in the centre. Horses or cattle were placed on either side to pull the wagon.

Double Shaft Single Shaft
The 1892 Double Shaft Krugerpond coin that almost resulted in Paul Kruger losing the election. Look at the wagon in the centre of the coin. Note that it has two shafts (poles) to place cattle or horses in between and the wheels are both the same size. "He has defaced our coat of arms" yelled his political opponents. The 1892 Single Shaft Krugerpond. Note in the centre the corrected wagon with a single shaft (pole). Cattle or horses were placed next to it. The obverse (tails) side of the 1892 Double Shaft Krugerpond. Note the initials"OS" circled in red on the bust of Paul Kruger. His political opponents seized upon the fact that "OS" is Dutch for Ox and proceeded to call Kruger "Dumb Ox Kruger".

It may seem like a small issue, but it became one of the major issues of the election. “He has insulted the members of the Republic by defacing our coat of arms!” cried his political opponents. “How can you trust a man to be President when he is so incompetent, that he cannot even produce our own coinage correctly?”

His opponents were also quick to point out that on the obverse of the coin, you could see the letters ‘OS’ on President Kruger’s bust. ‘OS’ is a Dutch word for ox. They started telling the constituents that this stood for “Dumb-ox Kruger”. The letters which appeared were in fact the coin-die engraver’s initials, Mr Otto Shultz. He had followed the customary procedure of placing his initials on the dies which is still done today.

The British press did their best to demonise President Kruger.
Here he is portrayed as an Ogre scaring the British cabinet.
President Kruger immediately went into damage control. He had a very fierce temper and did not like being called an ox! He decided to recall all the coins in order to prevent any further damage. When people heard that the coin was being recalled, they were in even greater demand than before. Very few of the coins were ever returned. The initials ‘OS’ were removed from the new coins and alterations to the coat of arms were made.

Fortunately for President Kruger, he recovered from his coin mishap and won the election by the very thinnest of margins. The corrected coins were struck without any changes from 1893 – 1900. It can easily be summated that the Krugerpond of the ZAR highlights some of our countries most significant history and events. Coins are often referred to as being the capsules of time, as they chart and recount the history, events and times during the days of their minting.

Doctors around the world have always had a passion for collecting and assembling coin collections. Some of the most rare and sought after coins are in the hands of doctors. We are not sure why this profession feels such an affiliation to the world of coins, but it could be due to the history of the coins. We must also state that they are closely followed by accountants and lawyers, who also seem to have a passion for the coin market. From the accountant’s perspective this may be due to the favourable tax advantages that rare coins offer worldwide. Lawyers, as with doctors, are probably fascinated by the intriguing and educating historical aspect of coins.

The picture clearly shows the loss of President Kruger's left hand thumb. He amazingly cut it off himself after his hunting rifle exploded in his hand. He was a truly remarkable man.
One of the greatest doctors to participate in this field was Dr F K Mitchell. Regarding the Krugerponds, he had this to say: “The first Single Shafted Half Pounds issued, bear the year 1893 and of these there are really very few, so that today they are the rarest of all of the normal Kruger coins”. He is correct, as these coins are extremely rare and much sought after.

The Half Pond Krugerpond of 1893 is the rarest of all normal Kruger coins. A point often made by Dr Frank K Mitchell, one of the greatest South Africa's coin collectors and investors.
The best way to accumulate ZAR coins is in sets
The ultimate ZAR set to own is the Proof Set. It is the king of all of our sets and consists of 9 coins, with an estimated mintage of only 12. These are extremely rare and very expensive. They are also fantastic investments. The owners of these sets can generally expect return rates far in excess of 50% per annum.

The next best set to accumulate is a complete set of ordinary ZAR coins from the first year of mintage. It is commonly referred to as a Standard 1892 Set. This consists of 11 coins. It would be difficult to fault a collector or investor who has compiled a Standard 1892 Set. Another excellent set to compile is a set of the ordinary gold coins of 1892. This is called a Gold 1892 Short Set. It consists of three coins, namely the Double Shaft Pond, Double Shaft Half Pond and the Single Shaft Pond.

Double Shaft Single Shaft Double Shaft
The 1892 Double
Shaft Krugerpond		 The 1892 Single
Shaft Krugerpond		 The 1892 Double
Shaft Half Krugerpond

With the gold ponds, you could compile a set of each ordinary pond that was minted between 1892 and 1900. This would be called a date set. If you wanted to compile a type set containing the two different types of ordinary ponds, then the set would include an 1892 Double Shaft Pond and an 1892 Single Shaft as they are the only two different varieties amongst the ordinary ponds. With regard to the ordinary Half Ponds, you could compile a date set which would consist of all of the years from 1892 – 1897. You could not compile a type set of these as they are all one type.

The more popular the set is that you attempt to complete, the better your financial returns will be. It stands to reason that the greater the demand, the better the performance. At this point in time, the sets that are most avidly being completed by investors and collectors are the 1892 Standard Sets. Even if you do not have the capital to complete the entire set, it is still a great investment route to take. There are many investors and collectors that are quite prepared to buy partially completed sets and complete them at a later stage.

You may be wondering why you should form a set. Since the time that coin collecting began, collectors soon realised that, rather than collecting coins in a haphazard manner, it was better to put together an entire series or set of related coins. Today investors and collectors are prepared to pay vast premiums for such sets. Putting together these sets takes a lot of time and patience, so when they come onto the market as a completed set, it could mean a premium of over 50% above the going price of the coins if they were individually purchased.