When gold was discovered in Gautengs rich mines in 1886, President Paul Kruger established a mint at the National Bank that produced South African gold coins based on British denominations. Built in Pretoria, the State Mint and Bank produced the first gold coins in 1892, and its original building still stands proudly in the city of jacarandas today.

Throughout the countrys rich and occasionally onerous history, South African gold coins have come to depict some renowned figures and symbols, and are proudly owned by coin collectors around the world. Produced by the South African Mint, which is a private subsidiary of the South African Reserve Bank, the newest coinage is produced in Johannesburg, Centurion, and caters to a wide variety of numismatists tastes. Popular South African gold coins include:

• Mandela coins have legacy: A variety of South African gold coins have been minted both in South Africa and internationally in honour of the previous President Nelson Mandela, and to conserve his legacy both as a human rights leader and leader of the post-Apartheid South Africa. Mandela coins such as the Presidential Inauguration Medallion and Mandela/de Klerk Medallion are popular collectors items.
  
  
• Natura coins for nature lovers: South African gold coins depicting some of our most precious natural resources, the Natura coin proof series portrays lion, rhino, elephant, buffalo and cheetah, and has expanded with animals such as hippopotamus, eland and giraffe. Having won several international awards since its first issue in 1994, this 24 carat gold series appeals to animal lovers and coin collectors with a taste for the outdoors.
  
  
• National anthem Protea coins: Uniquely South African Protea coins depict the writers of our countrys national anthem, which was influenced by two poet-teachers born in the same year, as well as countless other voices across the southern African continent. A part of the anthem, Die Stem, was adapted from a poem that was written by CJ Langenhoven in 1918. The other part, Nkosi Sikelel iAfrika, was written and composed by Enoch Mankayi Sontonga. Both of these mens faces share the Protea coin, along with musical notes that represent South Africas rousing anthem.
  
  
• A mint Krugerrand: South Africas most famous coin, the Krugerrand, was first minted in 1967 as a means to privately own gold. On one side it depicts President Paul Kruger, who was the first President of the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR), and on the other side it depicts the countrys national animal the springbok. Available to buy individually or as a set, the Krugerrand is minted in stringent conditions and set with the utmost care in order to preserve its mint condition.