Back in 1967, the South African government took the decision to release a new gold bullion coin to help promote South African gold as an investment vehicle into the international markets. Named after the famous South African President and nature conservationist Paul Kruger and the South African monetary currency, Krugerrands have been produced since the first coin was struck on the 3 July 1967. Next year represents the coins 50th anniversary and the South African Mint are pulling out all the stops to make it memorable.

Of greatest interest to most people, the long-awaited debut of a silver version of the coin. Often associated with counterfeits, the coin is to become a reality after half a century. The famous springbok design has been used by AllCollect for a range of silver coins issued for another African state, the Republic of Gabon, but those were not related to the Krugerrrand in any way.

First thing to note with the silver coin is that it carries an actual denomination, 1 Rand, the gold never having done so. Apart from the inscriptions in the bottom half of the reverse face, the design remains unchanged from the original. For this 2017 coin, we’re going to assume that these will continue onwards unless they’re an unlikely poor seller, there is also a small privy stamp of the number 50 in a circle, the meaning obvious.

There are to be two versions. One struck to what the mint calls ‘Premium uncirculated‘ will be the bullion offering, with a mintage set at a million (corrected from 500,000). Also on offer will be 15,000 coins struck to a proof standard, a few of which will be mixed in with some gold anniversary sets. It’s been a long time coming, but this ultra-iconic design is now available to us in a hugely more affordable format. They should begin shipping in mid-November. But that’s not all….