Krugerrand History

The one ounce gold krugerrand history begins not on July 3rd, 1967 when it was first struck- not even in planning and strategy meetings held by the Chamber of Mines of South Africa (established in 1889 as a voluntary private sector organization to represent the interests of mining employers) who were its architects.

Witwatersrand, South Africa or the "ridge of white waters" in Afrikaans, is truly where Gold Krugerrand history starts. These mineral rich hills run east to west near Johannesburg for over sixty miles. They produce many minerals including uranium- and in 1884 the first gold discovery was made. The president of the Transvaal at that time was Paul Kruger, who knew that the gold discovery would forever change the face of South Africa. As he predicted, the rich gold find brought in many foreign miners looking to make their fortune. As more and more foreigners entered, they eventually began to outnumber the Boers, and their protests for their rights lead to increasing levels of conflict. Underlying this concern for their rights, was the British desire to control gold rights.

The spark that set off the powder keg of the second Boer war came in 1899, when the British demanded equal rights for all the foreign miners. Paul Kruger, concerned about keeping the Transvaal independent, fired back an ultimatum of his own. All British to be out within forty-eight hours. Needless to say neither side backed down, and a war raged for three years. The British eventually prevailed in 1902, and the Transvaal was absorbed- however Boers managed to salvage some conditions so it was not a total rout.

Politics settled, the march of the Gold Krugerrand carried on. A Krugerrand would be nothing without that heart of precious metal- refined gold bullion. In 1920 the Transvaal Chamber of Mines needed a consolidated refinery to handle all the gold in South Africa. The Rand Refinery was created to meet this need, and has been in continuous operation every since.

The 1 oz Krugerrand takes its name from a combination of Paul Kruger's surname, and the Rand, which is the currency of South Africa (the Rand was taken from Witwatersrand). The obverse of the 1 oz Krugerrand has a portrait of Paul Kruger, designed by Otto Schultz. Coert Steynberg designed the reverse, which is a Springbok antelope, a national symbol of South Africa.

With Executive Order 6102 and the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917, United States citizens were effectively barred from owning gold bullion. In 1967 the Chamber of Mines of South Africa had a clever plan for their fledgling 1 ounce Gold Krugerrand. By declaring the coin legal tender of South Africa, it was classified as "foreign coin", and US citizens could buy it.

They also had another trick up their sleeve, instead of putting a value on it- they put the weight of the gold bullion on the coin. This allowed a quick and easy method to trade gold bullion without the need to melt and assay its gold content. This also tied the value of the Krugerrand directly to the underlying gold value. It's interesting to note that Krugerrands are not 24 carat gold- they are alloyed with copper which gives them their dark golden color and adds strength. Rest assured however, that they do contain one full ounce of gold bullion.

Until apartheid was abolished in the middle of the 1990s, it was still illegal to import Krugers in western countries. In spite of this the Kruger was still a commercial success. Forty-six million ounces later, it is remains the world's most popular bullion investment coin. The 1 oz Gold Krugerrand history leads from the rolling hills to the highest political offices, and beyond.