1892 Kruger Pond

Gold Kruger Pond - 1892
Double shaft

Background:

Kruger Coins of 18921900

The discovery of gold in the Witwatersrand in 1885 turned the South African Republic from an impoverished state dominated by farmers to one where fortunes could be made from mining. In 1892 President Kruger, facing an election campaign, ordered the building of a mint and the striking of the republic's first full coinage series. The government, which contained a number of Hollanders and Germans, debated whether to base the Republic's coinage on the British coinage or whether to introduce a decimal coinage. Eventually it was decided to adopt the British coinage system as the basis of the Republic's system.

There were 12 pence in one shilling, and 20 shillings in one pond. These coins depict the portrait of the President Kruger. The name of the Republic was the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, which was abbreviated as ZAR on the obverse of the 1d, the 212s, the 5s, the 1/2 pond, and the 1 pond.

The coins of the 1892 issue were struck at the Royal Prussian Mint in Berlin. The others were struck at the South African Republic's Mint in Pretoria.

There are two types of Kruger coins: Single Shaft and Double Shaft, which is derived from the wagon depicted in the Republic's coat of arms. The Double Shaft coins are known by the nickname Disselboom, which is Afrikaans for Double Shaft.