The History of the Gold Krugerrand

Image source: http://www.images-apmex.com/images/Catalog%20Images/Products/60330_Obv.jpg?v=20160425045332&width=900&height=900

The Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917 coupled with the Executive Order 6102 signed by FDR made it illegal for US citizens to personal gold bullion at the time the Gold Krugerrand was introduced to the markets (1967). The law didnt ban them from owning foreign coins and the South Africans took abilities of this rather cleverly. They made the Krugerrand legal tender, which allowed Americans to purchase it as a foreign currency. They additionally stamped the gold content on every coin, which made it easy to business since the quantity of gold was known without having to melt and test it.

Krugerrand contains 22 carat of gold and 2 carat of copper, which presents it its prevalent orange look. The copper additionally makes the coins harder and more sturdy so it can resists more scratches and dents. Each Krugerrand contains one troy ounce of gold (31.10g) and 2.83g of copper.

In the current climate where the price of gold is rising and the demand is enhanced than ever, the Rand Refinery is struggling to keep up with the orders. Being the most popular gold coin in the world, Krugerrands are an ideal investment throughout economic instability since they are easy to sell onwards and their gold content is widely known. Because of the small quantity of copper in the coin, Krugerrands are more sturdy than 24 carat coins so they wont lose their shine as the years go by. Krugerrand celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2007 and it appears that there will many more to come.

Krugerrands get their name from Paul Kruger, fifth and last president of the historical South African Republic. His face is on the take a look at side on the coin and on the reserve side is a springbok, the national symbol of South Africa.

It was illegal to import Krugerrands to most of the Western countries from South Africa till 1994 due to the Aparthied policies. Since the political reform ended in 1994, Krugerrand has become the most popular bullion coins with forty six million ounces in circulation.

The first Krugerrands were struck on third of July in 1967 and since then 54 million of them have been made. This thought, isnt when the history of the Krugerrands began. It dates as far back as 1889 when the Golden Arc was discovered. The Arc is 500km long formation of hills near Johannesburg and additionally one of the largest gold deposits in the world. The discovery led to a war over the control of the resources in 1899, so called The Second Boer war. The Boers fought demanding but couldnt beat the British Empire, which reabsorbed the country in 1902.
The 2nd state in the history of Krugerrand is the establishment of the Rand Refinery in 1920. The rand Refinery manufactures equally of the blanks that are used to mint Krugerrands. The Refinery was created by the Transvaal Chamber of Mines to refine all gold mined in South Africa. Even in 2005, 80% of the countrys gold was delicate there.