---------BURGERS POND FINE BEARD 1874 AU 55

Burgers pond 1874 Fine beard.

Stunning coin.

Great collectable. Must have in any coin collectors collection.

Only 695 ever minted.

SANGS  graded coin AU 55.

Hern Catalogue have EF valued at R 325000

In 1874 the South African government, under President Thomas Francois Burgers, decided to have coins minted to the same value as the English sovereign. Ralph Heaton & Sons of Birmingham coined 837 Ponde/Pounds using alluvial gold from the Lydenburg district. The first 695 pieces were struck with a single pair of dies, after which the obverse die broke, and the final 142 pieces were struck with a new obverse die, but with the same reverse die. The first person to notice a difference in striking was Mr. A.J. Ellis of Johannesburg in 1944. The two types are the fine beard and the coarse beard. The most important differences between the obverses of these two varieties are that the coarse beard has coarser points to the beard, and that the 8 of the date 1874 appears to have been double struck. This double struck effect is due to a flaw on the die itself.