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 on January 1, 1975, the Krugerrand was a best seller. This continued until Canada introduced the pure gold Maple Leaf in 1979 which eventually assumed the role of best selling gold bullion coin.

A setback occurred for the South African Krugerrand when, in 1984, President Reagan and 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 (at least in part) but by then another competitor was firmly established. The American Gold Eagle, first minted in 1986, "took over" as the most popular gold bullion coin in the U. S..

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 and maybe a few have your name on them.

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 (once in a while, you will 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. See images above.

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

If you are looking for about the lowest-cost way of buying/owning gold - start with these gold coins. One-ounce South African Krugerrands have about the lowest premium you will find and fractional Krugerrands (less than one ounce) enjoy lower premiums than other popular fractional gold coins.

But be a smart shopper - don't buy from the first dealer you find that sells Krugerrands. Prices can vary widely and you will want to compare prices from several dealers to get the maximum amount of gold for your money.

More Information On Krugerrands

You can get valuable investing information on South African Krugerrands from current eBay auctions. A review of these auctions will tell you current bid prices for various denominations of this coin. Especially valuable are the Krugerrand auctions that are closest to expiring - both those with bids and those with no bids. You will get a good idea of what are fair prices for Krugerrands in today's market - and which are not.

If you only want to invest in one or a few coins at a time, eBay auctions might be just the ticket for you (many dealers are not interested in small sales). It's free to set up an account - just click on any auction below, look for "register" in the upper left-hand corner (by the eBay logo) and click it to get started.

For your convenience, I have included a number of Krugerrand auctions closest to expiration below. Bookmark this site and check back often - you may be able to pick up some nice gold Krugerrands at a decent price.

If you see an auction you want to bid on, you will want to check the seller's eBay "reputation" before you bid. On the auction page, look for "Meet the seller" on the right-hand side (toward the top). There you will see the seller ID followed by a number in parenthesis. The higher that transaction number plus a high positive feedback percentage (95% or better), the more assurance you have of a "safe" winning bid.

Disclaimer: I have made every reasonable effort to produce an informative and helpful article on South African Krugerrands based on my research and experiences. However, I make no representation or warranties of any kind with regard to its completeness, accuracy or suitability for any specific situation or purpose. See Terms and Conditions for more info.

Site Policies: Privacy|Terms & Conditions||Contact Us.

Visit the Gold Investing Home Page for current gold prices.