Friends of the WCNS
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The WCNS is actively promoting the preservation of our heritage. Our national repositories are the custodians of historically important and irreplaceable items. We are aware of numismatic items that have gone missing from these repositories and urge anyone with information to get in touch via our Contact Us channel
New 1/10th ounce gold coins released by the SA Mint - click to enlarge
Coin of the Year Awards 2024
The category winners of the annual Coin of the Year awards were announced on 14 May 2024. South Africa was nominated in three categories, Gold coins, R50 - Buffalo, Circulating coins, 50c - Knysna Loerie, and Bi-Metallic coins, R5 - the Southern Right Whale. The 50c coin, featured elsewhere on this page, won the award for Best Circulating Coin dated 2023. South Africa has always been at the forefront of coin design and has won numerous accolades.
As numismatics is closely connected with history, archaeology, art history, and economics, the language and tasks of numismatics – its terms and techniques - can often be bewildering. From Zevenstuiver to hairline, Unc to Nimbus, find it here. It's the Oxford Dictionary of Numismatics - NNP Dictionary. Note, external link.
Feature Article
The Doit of the VOC
(Dutch East India Company)
VOC doits are not that scarce and expensive (with exceptions) and offer a wide and interesting collecting field for South African hobbyists. They are also collected internationally and in great demand even in America, where the VOC issues are called New York Pennies.
As we will see, VOC doits were struck between 1726 and 1794 for use by the company, but after it went bankrupt in 1799 they were still struck depicting the VOC monogram until the early 1840s (of which some retained the frozen date 1790). Read further
Victor des Vages, a founding member of the old South African Numismatic Society that had its inaugural meeting on the 29th of August 1941 in Rosebank, Cape Town, recalls the early days when the society, the forerunner of the WCNS, started out as the Cape Town Coin Club and its growth from there. Part of his coin collection was housed in the South African Cultural History Museum in Cape Town, and he was granted an honorary life membership of SANS. The Western Cape Numismatic Society has added pictures to an article by Victor that was originally published in the South African Numismatic Journal (Number 8) in March 1974. Read here...
Eldon Serjeant Collection of ZAR coins
Lt Col Eldon Serjeant, a British soldier during the Second Boer War, is thought to be the first person to have collected a complete set of ZAR coins.
One of our members has now acquired a set of letters and documents that accompanied this famous coin collection. This will be transcribed and donated for research on our website. Documents that accompany collections can become a fascinating part of that collection.
Follow the links below for more on the Serjeant collection.
The coinage of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek has been much in the news lately due to the sale of the so-called 'single 9' overstamped pond of 1898 in January this year. After the Anglo-Boer War broke out on 11 October 1899, the Pretoria Mint decided to continue the issuing of gold coins, but no 1899 dies were available and subsequently, a number of 1898 ponde were overstamped with the figure “99” on the obverse.
Photos: Ken Jacobs
Statistics show that the overstamped 1899 pond is the rarest ZAR issue (proof coins and patterns excluded) with only 25 coins graded.
The article explores another magnificent South African coin that is sought after by serious collectors. Read here...
Photo: NGCcoin.com
South Africa's most iconic coin, the 1898 ZAR "Single 9" gold pond, which is listed among the top 20 coins in the world, was auctioned on 13th January 2025 by Heritage Auction House in America for the magnificent price of US$ 2 160 000.00.
Our article takes an in-depth look at this rare and valuable coin's pedigree, also dubbed "The King of South African Coins," detailing the initial scepticism, followed by the inevitable euphoria. Also included are the prices realised for the coin over the years. The "Single 9" is sought-after by many collectors for its historical and investment value. Read here...
Featured Coin Designer
Our fifth instalment features the designer of the R2 coin from South Africa's 2023 Fourth Decimal Coin Series, Themba Mkhangeli, a multi-award-winning visual artist, environmentalist, and entomologist. A self-taught artist who first began drawing with ballpoint pens, Themba was commissioned by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and the South African Mint to design the new R2 coin.
The overall theme was ecology, and for the R2, the animal inspiration was the Springbok, South Africa's national animal.
To others, it might look like a Springbok mother and lamb, but it represents something deeper for Themba. His inspiration for the design comes from his experience as a child of a single parent, a big issue in our country.
The Capetonian has won several competitions, including the Sanlam Portrait Award, the Vuleka Visual Arts competition, and the Ryno Swart Drawing Medal for best drawing at Rust-en-Vrede Gallery.
Western Cape Numismatic Society Announcements
The Annual General Meeting will be held on 15 February 2025
Accolades
We are proud to announce that The Heritage Portal has included two WCNS articles in the 2024 Heritage Portal Showcase Top Five "Popular Articles" category. We are also listed in their directory database under two categories, namely "Research" and "Preservation Societies".
Membership
Membership of the society is open to all. Enquiries can be made through our Contact Us channel
WCNS Archives
Our comprehensive library consists of SA Numismatic Publications and Government Gazette sections, 1870 - current in Pdf formats, with an added Category Section as a research finding aid. Follow the Library link in the Site Menu bar.
More SA Numismatic resources
Library feature:
The Coins and Medals of Krugerdom
In November 1901 the London newspaper, Sphere, published the first illustrated article on Transvaal coinage. Read the copy here...
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Dimension of, design for, and compilation of 2 oz Piedfort Krugerrand to be issued in 2024
Book Review
The Art of Coins
Gerald Hoberman
The New York Times only reviewed around 400 of the 40 000 books printed in 1981. One that received an outstanding review was the timeless The Art of Coins and Their Photography by acclaimed Cape Town numismatic photographer Gerald Hoberman. Read the South African Panorama review with pictures by Hoberman. A textbook of the highest quality that is becoming hard to find. Highly recommended...
New Book Release
The "Perfect" Forgery
Pierre H. Nortje
The book takes us back to the days of the Anglo Boer War when the Berlin Mint tried to supply the Pretoria Mint with dies for 1900 Ponde. It reads like a spy story with secret agents of both the British and Boer governments involved, a break-in on a ship in the Lourenco Marques harbor in Mozambique, secret dealings with the French Mint in Paris, and much more. A delightful and well researched piece. Proceeds from the book sales will go to the WCNS.