Facing an
upcoming election and wanting the new coins in circulation to enhance his
prestige, President Kruger didn’t wait for the Pretoria Mint to be
completed. Instead, he contracted to have the first issue of new ZAR coins
(dated 1892) struck at the Imperial German Mint in Berlin. This proved a
mistake, as the dies were cut with two glaring mistakes that insulted the
populace and proved quite embarrassing to Kruger and the National Bank. Designer
Otto Schultz, following a common practice, placed his initials ‘OS’
at the truncation of Kruger’s bust (image right).
Unfortunately, os is the Afrikaans word for ‘ox’, and new
dies had to be hastily prepared omitting the initials. Even more damaging
was the incorrect depiction of the Voortrekker wagon in which so many families
had come to their new home. This kind of vehicle traditionally had a single
hitching shaft
protruding from its front, and its rear wheels were much larger than the
front ones. Schultz instead depicted it with a double shaft and wheels of
equal size throughout - this type of wagon was commonly used by Gypsies in
Europe - and hardly flattering to the hardship and pride of the boers (image
right). 10,000 half-pound coins were struck and 16,000 of the one-pound
pieces. In addition, some 20-25 proofs of the half-pound were produced, while
just 12-15 one-pound proofs were coined. These proofs were included in
presentation sets and were probably distributed to figures who played some
role in the creation of the Mint and its coinage.
Reacting quickly, Kruger had the embarrassing error coins withdrawn and replaced with another issue of the same date but with the errors corrected. As people do with any coins which they believe will become rare, they hoarded the initialed, double-shafted coins in large numbers. This effectively ended their circulation, but it also made them more available to collectors of today than they might otherwise be.
The coin below, in the Balson Holdings Family Trust, is valued at
about US$2,000
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The rare 1892 Single Shafted Pond
The single shafted 1892 Pond is very rare - the number minted is not known
- but clearly a special batch of ponds were issued by the Kruger government
with the correct single shafted wagon with larger rear wheels and Otto Schultz's
initials removed from Kruger's bust. (value 2008)
This coin below, in the Balson Holdings Family Trust, is valued at
about US$2,000
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 |
Value in 2005: The 1892 ZAR £1 Single Shafted coin is highly sought after - valued at over US$1,500 in Unc. Rarely seen on auction. (Value 2008)
Pres Burgers
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