Gold Krugerrand
The Krugerrand was first conceptualized in 1964 as a legal tender bullion coin marked only with its weight in gold. The coin was created as a means for the private ownership of gold bullion by the general public and was first minted at the South African Mint on July 3, 1967.
Gold Krugerrands were marketed so successfully that by the early 1980s they held an 89% market share of the entire gold bullion coin industry. The unique concept behind the 1 oz gold Krugerrand was that the coin's value was dervied solely from the current value of gold. As a result the coin was not marked with a rand value.
The gold Krugerrand's popularity and success ultimately led to the minting of gold coins by other nations during the late seventies and mid-eighties; the popular Canadian Maple Leaf in 1979 and the US Gold Eagle in 1986 , to name just two.
Coin Composition
Krugerrand gold coins are legal tender. Its composition was designed to be more durable. Its purity is .9170, or 91.7% gold, with the remainder being copper. Copper alloy gold coins are more resistant to wear than their 24 karat counterparts. The coin also appears closer to an orange shade than coins alloyed with silver. Each 1 oz coin weighs 33.93 grams (consisting of 31.1 grams pure gold and 2.83 grams copper).
The coin's name is a combination of the first Boer president of the South African Republic, Paul Kruger, and the name of the South African currency, the rand. The coin features Paul Kruger on the obverse of the coin and a springbok, a famous national symbol of the South African Republic, on the reverse. The words "South Africa" and "fine gold" are displayed in both English and Afrikaans.
The South African Mint also manufactured limited quantities of proof Krugerrands, which can be differentiated by the number of serrations on the edge of the coin — 220 serrations for proof coins compared to 180 serrations for uncirculated coins.
In 1980, following the success of the 1 oz gold Krugerrand, the South African Mint started producing fractional gold Krugerrands in 1/2 oz, 1/4 oz and 1/10 oz denominations. These fractionals make it easier to barter with and make gold coins more affordable for every price point.
A special mintage of only 30 proof coins in each denomination commemorated the 30th anniversary of the Krugerrand in 1997.
The Krugerrand is one of the most widely owned gold coins to date, with sales of close to 50 million ounces since inception.
Market Value
Coin pricing will move up or down with the daily price of gold. The spot price of gold (and all precious metals) is reported every business day in all major newspapers, television, radio and various websites.