One Rand (R1)
The first Springbok appeared as long ago as 1947 as a true South African symbol on our silver crown size coins. The original design is still viewed as one of the best designs in the world. Based on the original artwork of one of South Africa's famous sculptors, Coert Steynberg, the Springbok was used on various other South African coins. These were the gold one-pound and ½ pound coins, and later the gold R1 and R2 coins. From 1960 to 1964, the Springbok reappeared on the reverse of the 50c. This prancing buck was also chosen to be the symbol on the Krugerrand from 1967 to date. The Springbok was also depicted on the R1 nickel coins from 1977 - 1990. When introducing the current coin series in 1989, the Springbok was once again the chosen design for the reverse of the new smaller R1 coin. The words "SOLI DEO GLORIA" ("To God alone the Glory") appear on the R1 coins. In 2002, The Johannesburg World Summit (a United Nations Convention) was held in South Africa. To commemorate this prestigious event, a couple of million "World Summit" R1 circulation coins were manufactured and put into circulation.
Specifications
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Description
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Diameter (mm)
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Mass (g)
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Metal
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Content
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Die-sinker
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Obverse/ Reverse
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R1 Springbok
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20
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4
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Nickle-plated copper
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AL Sutherland
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L Lotriet
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Language rotation
2002 - Afrikaans and Sepedi/Sesotho
2003 - isiXhosa and Afrikaans
2004 - isiZulu and isiXhosa
2005 - siNdebele and isiZulu
2006 -Tshivenda and isiNdebele
2007 - isiSwati and Tshivenda
2008 - Xitsonga and siSwati
2009 - English and Xitsonga
2010 - Setswana and English
2011 - Sepedi/Sesotho and Setswana