Krugerrand 1 oz Gold

Introduction to the Krugerrand

The Krugerrand from South Africa is considered the first modern bullion coin and is made of 22 carat gold. Due to its age and its status as the most traded coin worldwide, it is the most famous bullion coin in the world. Paul Kruger, the coin's namesake, is depicted on the obverse and a springbok, the heraldic animal of South Africa, on the reverse.

The Krugerrand gold coin

One side of the coin shows a springbok striding through the South African steppe and the year of minting. Below the springbok is the fine weight in Afrikaans and English. On the other side is a profile of Paul Kruger, who was the first president of the Transvaal Republic. Paul Kruger was also the founder of the Kruger National Park. His picture is framed by the name of the country, once in the Afrikaans spelling Suid-Afrika and once in the English spelling South Africa.

The coin is issued by the Rand Refinery in Germiston near Johannesburg, which is the only company authorised to mint the Krugerrand. Unlike most bullion coins, the Krugerrand is only 91.67% gold, the rest is copper to make the coin mechanically less sensitive. As the official currency of South Africa, the coin is tax-free in many countries despite its low gold content. While all other bullion coins have a face value, the Krugerrand has no such minting; the value of the Krugerrand is recalculated daily on the basis of the gold price.

Controversial Paul Kruger

Paul Kruger is descended from German emigrants who bore the name Kürger. While in South Africa the umlaut was lost in the name, in German-speaking countries he is always called Paul Kürger.

He was the president of the Boer Republic of Transvaal during the First and Second Boer Wars (1880-1881 and 1899-1902). The territory of Transvaal is in present-day South Africa. Kruger spent his last years in Clarens, Switzerland.

During his lifetime, Paul Kurger was perceived in Europe as a freedom fighter against the growing colonial power of the British. Many Kruger streets in the Netherlands, Belgium and, until 2009, in St. Gallen, Switzerland, bear witness to this. Today, he is viewed much more critically, since in his role as president of the Transvaal Republic he was also something like the spiritual father of the later apartheid state. In South Africa, the Economic Freedom Fighters in particular are calling for his statues to be torn down and the streets bearing his name to be renamed.

History of the Krugerrand

The Krugerrand has been produced since 1967, making it the oldest modern bullion coin in the world. From the beginning, the Krugerrand was designed as gold for private individuals. Since 30% of the gold mined in the world today comes from South Africa, it made sense to create a coin to tap into the market for private gold buyers. The first and original Krugerrand was produced with a fine weight of 1 ounce (31.103 g) of gold, but due to the alloy with copper, one coin weighs 33.93 grams.

Since its introduction, the production figures of the Krugerrand have fluctuated greatly, mainly because the embargo policy against the apartheid regime prohibited the import of this coin into the main sales countries in Europe and America, sometimes for decades.

Even after the sanctions were lifted, the Krugerrand no longer reaches the peak production values of 1978, when six million coins were produced. The introduction of local bullion coins such as the Canadian Maple Leaf, the US American Eagle and the Austrian Vienna Philharmonic is probably one of the reasons for this.

Since 1980, the Krugerrand has also been available in ½, ¼ and 1/10 ounce denominations, and in 2017, 50, 5, 1/20 and 1/50 ounce denominations were added. In 2018, a 2 ounce version was added.

To mark its 50th anniversary in 2017, the Krugerrand was also introduced in silver and platinum.

Significance of the Krugerrand today

After the ups and downs of importance over time, the Krugerrand is still one of the most important gold coins in the world today. In Switzerland, which has only partially adopted the sanctions against South Africa, the Krugerrand is probably the most common bullion coin. Today, South Africa is still one of the most important mining countries in the world. In 2017, precious metals were second only to minerals on the export statistics with 25.1% at 16.7%, a significant share of which is likely to be gold and thus also the Krugerrand.

For buyers, the Krugerrand is attractive because of its relatively low price premium over the material price and its widespread distribution and popularity. As a coin that does not have a serial number like bars, the Krugerrand naturally grants more anonymity.

Trading of Krugerrands on premesec.ch

Since the Krugerrand is very well known and accepted almost everywhere, it is an excellent coin to trade on premesec.ch.

Register and sell Krugerrand 1 oz Gold