Pairing an original Kruger Pond from the late 1800s with a 1920s Sovereign struck at The Royal Mint’s branch in Pretoria, this historic two-coin set offers collectors a unique Witwatersrand Gold Rush experience. Providing a fascinating glimpse into South Africa’s minting process from the late 1800s and early twentieth century, each coin is a fine example of the nation’s gold coinage of yesteryear.

A Sovereign State

As part of The Royal Mint’s global expansion in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the branch mint in Pretoria opened in 1923 and remained active until 1941. At the height of its production in 1928, the Pretoria branch mint struck more than 18 million Sovereigns, each with the mint mark ‘SA’ to differentiate them from those struck in London and at other branch mints around the world.

Striking Gold

The history of gold in South Africa dates back to the Witwatersrand Gold Rush of 1886. Discovery of this wealth of gold and the subsequent mining operations resulted in the establishment of a mint in Pretoria in 1892, which paved the way for a new national coin. Struck between 1892 and 1900 to the same specifications as the British Sovereign, the Kruger Pond was named in honour of Paul Kruger, the President of The South African Republic at the time.

The History of Branch Mint Sovereigns

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