WCNS Articles
Notice
This is the new home for all WCNS articles. All articles currently housed in the Blog section will be moved to this section. The Blog section will be discontinued once the migration is complete.
Further Notes
The Rarest of the Rare: Unique and Very Rare Gold Coins of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek
In 2022, The Rarest of the Rare: Unique and Very Rare Gold Coins of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek by P.H. Nortje was published. At the time the author stated: “After consulting with many leading South African numismatists and various sources, some of the coins are still a mystery. The project was not easy with many gaps still to be filled."
Exciting new information on three of the ten coins previously discussed has now come to light, prompting the author to write this follow-up. Additional information is also published on two coins that were not included in the original publication, "filling the gaps" to quote the author. Read here
In 1969 Dr Frank Mitchell, a South African Numismatic expert, examined a1900 gold ZAR pond, better known today as the Van Niekerk forgery, and immediately identified three areas which he believed proved the coin to be fake namely, die state, weight and colour. This three part series, of which this is the final, followed leads, spoke to experts, examined court records and discovered never before published records from both national and international archives. The research done for this series, in addition to making a compelling argument about the "Perfect Forgery", comes together in Part 3 and inadvertently helps to rectify popular beliefs and past publications. Read here...
South African gold coins truly offer a wide range for both collectors and investors. Unfortunately, they are as expensive as one would expect. However, over the years, few people have regretted investing in gold, especially in a country like South Africa, where the Rand is constantly under pressure from more stable world currencies like the Dollar and Pound. This article must not be seen as investment advice, but rather an informative catalogue of collectable South African gold coins. Read more
There are still many gaps in the numismatic story of South Africa. “What coins”, one is asked “have been used at the Cape since the first European settlement in 1652?” or “What coins did the Voortrekkers take with them when they set off North with their wagons in the 1830’s?” There is still no final answer to these questions, no full and final or comprehensive list of coins to be found in the marketplace of 17th, 18th or 19th century Cape Town, in the days when our embryo city was “The Tavern of the Seas”. In 1967, Die Nuwe Kerk, a church building of the Dutch Reformed Church (Die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk in Suid-Afrika), situated in Nuwe Kerk Street, Cape Town, was demolished, the foundation stone was raised and a collection of 20 coins was found. Dr Frank Mitchell examined the collection closely... Read more
The Story of the Fake Kruger Pond of 1900 - Part 2: The Sasseen Version
In Part 2, two of South Africa's foremost numismatists, Prof. Francois Malan and Glen Schoeman, share their accounts of discussions with master die cutter Tommy Sasseen (pictured here) regarding his views on the 1900 Kruger sovereign forgeries. Glen Schoeman, who worked closely on numerous projects with Tommy over a period of 35 years, wrote a complimentary piece for the WCNS upon request and says: "Tommy examined the coins under a microscope for days". Prof Francois Malan's meticulous approach together with Glen Schoeman's first-hand account and sharing of his knowledge that shines through has never been documented. Glen's full piece was added as an addendum to Part 2 and will be available in the WCNS archive. Read more...
The Story of the Fake Kruger Pond of 1900 - Part 1: The Levine Version
Many articles have been published on features that are fairly common to coins that have been copied or imitated. However, the sudden appearance in 1968 of quantities of mint condition ZAR ponds dated 1900 even had the experts sharply divided over this particular piece. The near-perfect coins appeared to have been struck with original dies and sold for "bargain" prices. In other words, too good to be true. Years later, the original seller, Gerritt van Niekerk, confessed, but many questions remained. In a two-part article, Pierre H. Nortje revisits this intriguing episode in SA numismatics with interviews and further research that bring to light new information. Read Part 1 here...
In this paper, decorated author, lecturer, and expert in Decorations and Medals, Brig Gen Deon Fourie discusses the controversial article published in the British newspaper, Daily Mail in 2021 under the heading "The hero snubbed for being black: Petition is launched to award Victoria Cross to South African WWII hero who snuck(sic) aboard Nazi ship and blew it up with bomb he built from a tin of condensed milk - but was denied medal due to his race".
The author explains the processes for nominating and awarding such esteemed honours, and he applies them clearly and methodically to the Maseko case using publicly available facts to reach his conclusion. It is a must-read for both medal collectors and anyone interested in the process of awarding them. Read more here.
Numismatics, the study and collecting of coins, is a much older pursuit than our sister hobby, philately (stamp collecting), and the reason is simple – coins existed for much longer before the first postal stamp was issued in Great Britain in 1840. The first coin to feature on a South African stamp was fittingly the first coin struck for South Africa the Burgerspond of 1874. On 6 April 1974, the Post Office issued the 9c to coincide with the 5th Numismatic Convention held at Carlton Hotel in Johannesburg and attended by the Prime Minister, Mr B.J. Vorster. The stamp on an official first-day cover is shown on the right. The article explores the historical connection between philately and numismatics. Read the article...
Although man’s interest in dinosaurs and palaeontology goes back to pre-Victorian times, the first coin featuring a dinosaur was only released in 1989. The 1993 blockbuster movie Jurassic Park sparked new interest amongst the general public and a wealth of coins featuring dinosaur motifs were produced in that same year. We take a look at some of these, including the 1998 SA Mint-released Natura series set aptly named "Rise of the Dinosaurs". An interesting series of coins for theme collectors. Link here...
The association between sports and numismatics dates back more than two thousand years to the ancient Greek and Roman world when some sporting events were depicted on coins. A study revealed that around 75% of South Africans are interested in sports, with approximately 25 million actively participating.
This article takes a look at South African coins depicting sporting events and makes a case for more sporting themes to be depicted on South African circulation coins. Read more...
In researching a different subject, the author came upon a token attributed to Cape Town by past South African Numismatists. However, further reading proved that this is not the case. Not only is the token not a Cape Town issue, it is not even South African, but hails from Smethwick in Staffordshire, England.
This prompts the author to ask the following question: - Are there other Cape Town tokens that were also wrongly attributed to being local issues in the past?
Our study focussed on Victorian & Edwardian Era Tokens (mid-1800s to 1910) - Link here
A giant artwork made of sand modelled on a coin with a very interesting history created a unique occurrence in the world of numismatics: a type or series of coins that were minted hundreds of years ago and was, in due time, discontinued and replaced, was recently officially returned to general circulation at a different value to what they were initially worth. These were the same coins that were cast so many years ago, not restrikes or replicas. A fascinating look at this historical coin series that also gives us insight into the world of Japanese culture. Link here
Coin hoards in South Africa are an infrequent occurrence; over the years, not many have been recorded. What is disturbing is that in those few instances where coins have been unearthed and buried together, very little is known about the hoard with the details vague. The coins themselves are seldom described. The article, which excludes shipwreck finds, discusses treasures found on South African dry land and includes the Kruger Millions, treasure found inside a crocodile and more. Link here
Coins are generally counterfeited for two reasons. Firstly, forgeries of higher-value coins in circulation were designed for general circulation at face value. This has been made by criminals since the dawn of coin production 2000 years ago. Secondly, copies of coins for the numismatic and tourist market. The first is usually of rare and highly valued coins. South African gold coin forgeries are well documented, but less is known about the various silver denominations, including the famous 1931 tickey (3d) of which numerous forgeries exist. This is a well-presented article that includes numerous pictures to help you avoid the counterfeit pitfalls when collecting these coins. Link here...
Some of the South African Numismatic “firsts” have already been discussed individually in previous articles on our WCNS website. This article now combines them in one paper, adds more information and explores the first circulating coins at the Cape of Good Hope, the first Honorary Medal, awarded by the VOC to Ysbrant Godske in 1677 for the Construction of the Castle at the Cape of Good Hope and establishes the de Mist Cartwheel Penny as the first Token coinage struck for South Africa amongst other numerous "firsts" leading to our modern issues. A literary historical treasure trove. Link here...
It is fairly widely known that the gold used to strike South Africa’s first gold coin, the so-called Burgerspond (1874) was sourced from alluvial gold mined at Pilgrim’s Rest in the Eastern Transvaal. A topic that's seldom discussed in numismatic literature is the source for the silver coinage of the ZAR that was struck from 1892 to 1897. A silver bar contains the inscription First Pure Silver produced on African Continent, Pretoria, dated 28 February 1893 and presumably from the Albert Silver Mine. This claim seems unlikely to us. Follow the link for more...
During the 1970s and 1980s it was very popular worldwide for private companies to strike collectable thematic medallion sets, usually in silver, and present them in beautifully crafted wooden cabinets or display albums.South Africa was no exception.
The article discusses some of these sets. Readers are encouraged to visit Professor Michael Laidlaw’s South African Commemorative Medals website from which much of the information in this article was sourced from. The pictures on his website are truly exceptional. In 2016, Prof. Laidlaw received the National Numismatic Society’s bronze medal for the work he has done on his website.
In Search of a Cape of Good Hope Medal
On his website South African Commemorative Medals, Professor Michael Laidlaw catalogues a silver medal with the legend reading "HUMANE SOCIETY, CAPE OF GOOD HOPE" with the date “1842”. It was made by W. Warrington, 27 Strand, London. He says “Nothing is known about this early Cape lifesaving society”. This prompted us to do some research on the medal.
Shipwreck Gold Coins from South Africa
Gold coins recovered from shipwrecks in South African waters were, in most cases, personal possessions carried by rich passengers and officers on the ships. However, a ship like the Birkenhead (1852) was rumoured to have had a military payroll of £240,000 in gold coins, weighing about three tons on board. The article explores some interesting coin finds along the South African coastline.
The Tickey – a legendary South African Coin
The word “tickey” was a slang name given to the lowest denomination coin issued in silver for use in South Africa in pre-decimal times during the 1800s and 1900s. The article takes a closer look at the legendary coin and the origin of the word.
Boer War P.O.W. Money of the Cape Town Prisoner of War Camps
During the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902), two prisoner-of-war camps were established in Cape Town, the first at Simon's Town and the second at Green Point. Their financial affairs were put under the control of the Camp Commandant, who issued Good For notes for use in the POW camps. A captivating article and a must-read.
South African Advertising Token Sets of the 1960s & 1970s
This short article explores some of the South African advertising tokens issued as collectable sets. These tokens were designed to entice children, encouraging them to influence their parents to shop at or support the companies that issued them. Most were produced by oil companies and distributed at their garages during the 1960s and 1970s.
Very little has been written on these tokens in the past and information about them is truly scarce. This article uncovers more information on these items and publishes the first clear colour picture of the Lina de Lorme token. A controversial and fascinating subject.
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The Table Mountain Aerial Cableway which opened in 1929, is one of Cape Town's most popular tourist attractions with approximately one million people a year using the Cableway. Four tokens and medallions were issued with little information available. We take a look.
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The ZAR-coinage mintage figures, supplied by generations of South African coin catalogues, are based on those published by J.T. Becklake, the last Deputy Master of the Royal Mint and the first Director of the South African Mint in Pretoria. However, some anomalies seem to exist in the reporting of these figures. The article explores new information regarding these figures.
Part 2: The rare proof issues and the Glück auf Transvaal medal
The second part of the discussion around the 1892 ZAR coinage centres around the Gluck auf Transvaal medal and explores whether there is a connection between these medals and the proof issues of 1892. The author gives new comparisons regarding mintage figures and casts further light on the proof coin issues. The article also touches on the origin of the ZAR mint presses with some compelling facts.
For collectors of the coins of the South African King George V series, the year 1931 will always be an extremely difficult year to complete. To complete a set in non-proof condition would prove much more difficult and although it is theoretically possible, it is doubtful that any collector has ever succeeded in this goal, especially in certified (graded) condition. The jewels in the crown of King George V so to speak.
The Sammy Marks Tickey (3 pence) is a legendary South African gold coin that commands very high prices when specimens are sometimes offered for sale. Since numismatists became aware of the coin many years ago, it was always shrouded by myths and legends – as one would expect from a world-famous coin. In this article, we find out more about the influential Sammy Marks.
After war broke out between England and France in 1781, the Cape virtually ran out of hard currency as an ally of the Netherlands supporting the French. This shortage led to the issuing of paper notes the following year to prevent a currency shortage crisis. The article discusses the origin of the Stiver and Rixdollar denominations and compares the design of the local notes to those issued in other parts of the Dutch territories.
This two-part article digs deep to try and find the answer.
This short paper takes a look at coinage that was issued before 1874 for exclusive usage in South Africa. These issues therefore predate our first coin that carries the name of South Africa, which is the Burgerspond.
