1. Why Do ZAR Coins Make a Great
Investment?

2. Collectible ZAR coins refer to those that were minted in South Africa between 1874
and 1902. Today, these rare coins are highly valuable and are often purchased as
investment coins, due to their rarity, market demand and consistently high annual
ROI.
One of the reasons why ZAR coins make such an attractive investment is the fact
that the majority only had relatively low mintage numbers, and as one might
expect, the lower the mintage, the greater the value of the coin. Added to this, of the
ZAR coins that remain, very few have been preserved in mint condition and only
a small number are available in investment grade condition. Perhaps most
importantly, these coins were never shipped overseas, so there is virtually no
chance of them flooding the market. These factors contribute to the incredibly limited
supply and high demand of rare South African coins among numismatists and
serious investors.
The reason why mintage was kept low is that when the first coins were struck in
South Africa, they were struck for the individual colonies at the time, because South
Africa as we know it today didn’t exist then.
The first ZAR coins struck in the Transvaal were the Burgers pond, named after the
president of the South African Republic at the time, Thomas Francois Burgers.
Ultimately, due to initial problems with the die, two versions of this coin were minted,
the 1874 ‘Course’ beard, and the 1874 ‘Fine’ beard. Of the Course beard variety, just
142 were minted, and of the Fine beard, only 695 were produced. From the images
below, you can clearly see the difference between the two gold coins.

3. Another ZAR coin with low mintage includes the 1892 Double Shaft pond, of which
only about 15 500 were produced. This may seem like a lot, given the exceptionally
low mintage figures of the Burgers pond, however it’s important to consider that the
population of the Transvaal at that time was well over 80 000 people. Only 511 of
these coins have surfaced since 1892, the remainder have either been melted down
or used in in jewellery.
Other examples of low mintage, high value ZAR coins include the 1899 ‘99’
Overstamp, the 1898 Sammy Marks Tickey and the 1902 Veld Pond. These rare
coins, as well as those pictured above, have an average annual ROI of 28 - 38%,
based on long term performance.
Given the ROI’s, and taking into consideration the rarity factors, it becomes clear
why ZAR coins make such a popular alternative portfolio asset. If you’d like to find
out more about investing in rare South African coins, or if there is a particular coin
that you’d like to add to your portfolio or collection, then contact South Cape Coins
today, the premier dealers in rare South African coins.
BIO
Georgia Christian is a digital marketing specialist for Lima Bean, a web
development, design and digital marketing company based in Cape Town.