What is a Krugerrand?
Defining a Krugerrand is fairly straightforward, but understanding its significance may require a crash course in world economics and international politics. A Krugerrand is a gold coin minted by the Republic of South Africa, but it would never be used to buy groceries or gas. Unlike other gold coins, the Krugerrand has no actual face value apart from its precious metal content. On the front of the coin is a profile of Paul Kruger, an early president of the Republic of South Africa. The Afrikaans words Suid Afrika appear, along with the English South Africa. The back of a Krugerrand features a male springbok, a national symbol of South Africa. There is also a date stamped in two sections on either side of the springbok image. A Krugerrand has serrated edges. The original Krugerrand was designed to contain precisely one troy ounce of 22 karat gold, approximately 33 grams. The actual weight is a little over 1 troy ounce because a small amount of copper, about 1/12 of the total weight, is
Krugerrands are gold coins that were first minted and issued in 1967, and have been produced every year since. They are legal tender in South Africa but because of far sighted attitudes from their makers they have been imported into many countries without import taxes, duty or VAT. This has made them easily available at good prices over the intrinsic value of the gold they are made from, and therefore an attractive proposition for private gold investors. Originally, only one size was issued, which contained one full troy ounce (31.1035 grams) of fine gold. These coins were the original Krugerrand, or Kruger, for short. From 1980, three other sizes were introduced, namely a half, quarter, and tenth ounce size. Because of these new additions, the original Krugerrand is sometimes referred to as a “full” or “one ounce” Kruger. Krugers remain an attractive proposition for private investors, especially with today’s soaring gold price! The Kruger was originally made available to world bullion
