South Africa 2021 Big Five Buffalo & Krugerrand 1oz Twin Set - Privy Mark Buffalo

The Buffalo: The culmination of the Big Five series honours the Buffalo, featuring an incredibly limited mintage of only 500 coins worldwide. The Cape or African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is a grazer, known for its habitat preference for swampy regions and shaded grasslands. A defining characteristic of this remarkable creature is its magnificent, curved horns, which can span up to an impressive 1.5 meters. As a distinguished member of the "Big Five," the buffalo was once on the brink of extinction due to extensive big-game hunting, but it has since made a remarkable recovery, showcasing the resilience of this iconic species.

On the reverse side of every coin within the Big Five series, you'll find a unique design element: two halves of each magnificent animal, ingeniously coming together to form a captivating close-up portrait when two coins are aligned side by side. When several coins featuring the same motif are arranged in succession, they beautifully unite to reveal the full majesty of the entire pack.

The Krugerrand: In the second coin of this twin-set, you'll discover the timeless Krugerrand with a special feature – a Privy Mark of the Buffalo.

The Krugerrand is a South African gold coin that was first minted in 1967 by the South African Mint. As South Africa was rich in the gold resource, the Krugerrand was produced so to help market South African gold. It soon got established and by 1980 the Krugerrand accounted for 90% of the global gold coin market.

The name itself is a compound of “Kruger” (Paul Kruger, who is the man depicted on the rear face of the coin) and "rand" (which is the South African unit of currency). There was a period during the 1970s and 1980s when some countries banned the import of Krugerrands because of South Africa’s apartheid policies. Paul Kruger is shown on the obverse of the coin, whilst a sprinbok antelope is shown on the reverse side.

The production levels of the Krugerrand has significantly varied over the years. During the early years of 1967-1969 around 40,000 coins were minted each year. By 1970 production was at over 200,000 coins. In 1974 over one million coins were minted, and in 1978 a total of six million Krugerrands were minted. In 1998, following the end of apartheid, the production dropped to around 23,000 coins, but since then production has increased again, although it has not reached the dizzy heights of the pre-sanction levels.

The strictly limited Big Five Buffalo 1oz and Krugerrand 1oz are delivered in the original wooden box including a certificate of authenticity from the South African Mint.