Women on South African Coins
Pierre H. Nortje (April 2025)
Introduction
It is interesting to note that the first woman to be depicted on a coin was born and raised on the African continent. The Smithsonian magazine notes that this was Arsinoe II, a Ptolemaic queen of Egypt, who appeared on a coin in the third century B.C. She was queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt by marriage to her brother, Pharaoh Ptolemy II Philadelphus.
More than 200 years later, in 43 BC, the first Roman coin was struck showing a woman, she being Fulvia, the wife of Mark Anthony.
Picture left: Gold Octadrachm of Arsinoe II, Tyre, 285–246 BC (Source: The Trustees of the British Museum).
Picture right: Silver Denarius of Fulvia (Source: Heritage.com).
It would appear that in ancient times, the women who were depicted on coins were all either members of the ruling elite or female deities (goddesses) like Ceres, goddess of agriculture, Diana, sister of Apollo, and Minerva Athena, goddess of wisdom and courage. During the Dark and Middle Ages, the depiction of deities (both male and female) on coins was largely halted, and only physical rulers were shown.
In later years, queens and empresses again started to appear on coins of various countries, such as Austria, Great Britain, Portugal, Russia, and the Spanish Netherlands.
Picture left: Silver Thaler of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria (Source: Numista).
Picture right: Elizabeth I, Gold Pound 1591-95 (Source: Bonhams).
Commemorative Coins
The issuing of commemorative coins by modern countries is a fairly new development, and it is hard to believe that the half dollar of 1892, struck for the Columbian Exposition (held in Chicago in 1893), was the first commemorative coin issued by the United States. Great Britain only followed more than 40 years later in 1935 with a crown commemorating the silver jubilee of King George V. When the Republic of South Africa was formed in 1961, only two local commemorative coins have been struck up to that date being both crown issues:- 1952 (Van Riebeeck tercentenary) and 1960 (Half centenary of the Union).
The author was unable to determine which country struck the first commemorative coin depicting a woman in modern times. As a matter of interest, during the Columbian Exposition (mentioned above) a quarter dollar was struck in 1893 commemorating Queen Isabella of Spain, who sponsored Christopher Columbus’s journey across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492.
Silver Commemorative, 1893 25C Isabella, PCGS MS68+ (Source: pcgs.com)
Since then, many countries have issued commemorative coins showing the effigies of women. The USA for example, has initiated the so-called American Women Quarters Program, a four-year program featuring the accomplishments and contributions made by women of the United States. Beginning in 2022, and continuing through 2025, the U.S. Mint will issue up to five new reverse designs each year.
The following are examples of other countries (both commemorative issues and coins struck for general circulation): -
Countries from left to right: Cameroon, China, Italy, USA and France. (Source: Coinweek.com)
South African Coins Depicting Women
In very broad terms, South African coinage can be categorized according to four periods that they were issued and circulated in our country: - Colonial issues of foreign countries like the Netherlands and Great Britain, issues of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (1874-1902), Union of South Africa (1923-1960) and the Republic of South Africa (1961 to present).
Regarding the colonial period (since 1652), coins of many countries circulated locally and it was only in 1826 that the British government decided to put the currency of all its colonies (including the Cape Colony) on a sterling basis and on 1 January of that year British coinage was introduced as the only official local currency. Eleven years later, in 1837, Queen Victoria started her long reign of almost 64 years. So long did she rule that her portrait depicted on coins, changed three times.
From left to right: “Young Head”, “Jubilee Head” and “Old (or Veiled) Head”. (Source: The Royal Mint).
The young head of Queen Victoria is also featured on a pattern penny dated 1889 struck for the Cape of Good Hope. An extremely scarce silver issue is also recorded. (See the WCNS article The Mysterious 1889 Silver Pattern Half-Crown of the Cape of Good Hope)
Source: Heritage Auctions.
On the coinage of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republic (1874-1902) no women are depicted, only the busts of Presidents Francois Burgers in 1874 and Paul Kruger from 1892 up to 1900.
Although the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910, we only started to mint our own coinage in 1923. As we have stated before, during that period, only two commemorative coins were issued, and neither depicted a woman. For the regular circulating issues, the reigning monarch’s portrait was featured being King George V (1923-1936), King George VI (1937-1952) and Queen Elizabeth II (1953-1960). Last mentioned was thus the only woman to be depicted on the obverse of the coinage of the Union.
Source: London Coins.
Regarding the Union coin reverses, all the shillings issued from 1923 to 1960 show the nautical female figure of “Hope” with an anchor. The Union coat-of-arms shown on the 2-shilling and half-crown issues (and the crown of 1960) shows her where she represents the Cape Colony as one of the original four colonies. She was also depicted on the stamps and some medallions of the Cape of Good Hope during Victorian times. (See also the emblem of the Western Cape Numismatic Society).
When the Republic of South Africa was formed in 1961, a decimal coinage system was introduced: the first series struck from 1961 to 1964, the second from 1965 to 1990, followed by the third series up to 2022, when the 4th series was introduced the following year. Except for “Hope” being shown on the 10c pieces on the first decimal series (1961-1964), a woman never again featured on a South African coin struck for general circulation except where she is depicted in the “old’ coat-of-arms.
Regarding commemorative coins of the Republic of South Africa depicting women, one must differentiate between those coins that are specifically commemorating women and those that show women as part of a broader theme that is commemorated.
There are only three coins that the author could find that fall in the first category, being the following: -
The first is a silver R1 Protea fittingly commemorating women of South Africa and was struck in 1997 by the South African Mint. It won the prestigious Krause Publications "Coin of the Year" award. The obverse shows the frontal view of a woman's face, the harsh South African countryside with Mother Earth, flowing into Sister Moon, engraved by Susan Erasmus. The issue was also struck as 1/10th and 1 Oz gold coins.
Source: Numista
The two other coins are also silver R1 Proteas, the one struck in 2010 commemorating Nadine Gordimer, who won the 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature and the other Albertina Sisulu, who was featured with her husband Walter on the issue of 2012 with the theme “The Greatest South African Love Story”.
Picture left: Nadine Gordimer (Source: Bobshop).
Picture right: Albertina Sisulu (Source: silvergoldbull.com).
Both issues were also struck as 1/10th and 1 Oz gold coins but with different designs. See example here …
As the author has stated, all other South African coins that depict women do so as part of a broader theme that is commemorated. Here are some examples (actual sizes) that the author could find. They are listed in the order of the pages as published in Hern’s Handbook on South African Coins & Patterns (2023/2024).
** It must be noted that on some of the other coins in Hern’s Handbook that people are depicted e.g. pages 137,141, 208 and 276, it is not clear if they are male or female.
Postscript
Although this paper only covers women depicted on coins, it must be noted that some beautiful South African medallions were struck, especially during colonial times, featuring the fairer sex.
The following pictures are from Professor Michael Laidlaw’s excellent South African Commemorative Medals website. The medals were all issued for Victorian-era Agriculture and Horticultural Societies in the Cape Colony.
The late Natalie Jaffe (1943-2023) former President of the South African Numismatic Society, the forerunner of the Western Cape Numismatic Society, was a passionate collector of medals like these depicting women.