South African Krugerrand
The Krugerrand - A brief History
The South African Krugerrand is a popular gold coin and one you should consider as a gold investment. Produced by the South African Mint beginning in 1967, this coin is the "original" one Troy ounce gold bullion coin.
When private ownership of gold became legal again for U. S. citizens in 1975, the Krugerrand was a best seller. This continued until Canada introduced the pure gold Maple Leaf in 1979 which then became the best selling gold bullion coin.
A setback occurred for this gold bullion coin when, in 1984, the U.S. Congress banned their importation as part of an anti-South African boycott. When South Africa lifted apartheid in 1994, the Krugerrand regained respectability but by then another competitor was firmly established. The American Gold Eagle, first minted in 1986, became the most popular gold bullion coin in the U. S. and internationally.
Despite these setbacks, South African Krugerrands are as internationally recognized and accepted today as the Gold American Eagle and the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf. There are a reported 54,000,000+ floating around the world.
The Krugerrand - Facts and Details
The
Krugerrand gets its name from Paul Kruger, the last president of
the Republic of South Africa, and the "rand", the monetary unit of
South Africa (you may see this coin spelled Kruggerand
but that is incorrect). The obverse side of the coin has the image
of Paul Kruger. The reverse image is that of a springbok antelope,
one of South Africa's national symbols.
Krugerrands come in one ounce, half-ounce, quarter-ounce and tenth-ounce sizes. They are alloyed with copper making them more durable and scratch-resistant than pure gold coins. Here are more details on their gold content, purity/fineness, Gross Troy weight, Net Troy (gold) weight and grams.
South African Krugerrands
One ounce 1.0000 oz.gold, 9167 purity,1.0917 Gross
Wt.,1.0000 Net Wt. 31.1034 grams
Half-ounce .5000 oz.gold, .9167 purity, .5454
Gross Wt., .5000 Net Wt., 15.5517 grams
Quarter-ounce .2500 oz.gold, .9167 purity, .2727 Gross Wt., .2500
Net Wt., 7.7758 grams
Tenth-ounce .1000 oz.gold, .9167 purity, .1090 Gross
Wt., .1000 Net Wt., 3.1103 grams
Until recently, Krugerrands were about the lowest-cost way of buying/owning one-ounce gold bullion coins. With gold starting to gain interest again, the premiums over spot gold aren't much less than those of the Canadian Maple Leaf and American Eagle. You still may find fractional Krugerrands (less than one ounce) at slightly lower premiums than other popular fractional gold coins.
More Information On Krugerrands
For your convenience, I have included a sampling of Krugerrands available on Amazon. You might be able to pick up some of these widely accepted coins at a fair price. Be aware I receive a small compensation if you buy coins through this site which does not result in you paying more. Click on "Go" to see a larger selection.
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