World Heritage Site Series

Vredefort Dome

The gold R2 coin was re-introduced in 1997 as a commemorative coin series. In 2002, the World Heritage Sites in South Africa was
introduced as the theme.

Some 2,020 million years ago, a meteorite that was probably roughly the size of Table Mountain, ten kilometers by ten kilometers,
slammed into the planet close to where the little town of Vredefort now lies. The force of the impact generated such power and heat
that the meteorite itself was vaporized, as was some of the earth's crust where it hit. The impact took four minutes to gouge out a
crater up to 50 kilometers deep, which quickly collapsed. It set off seismic events of magnitude 14 on the Richter scale. The collapsed
crater eventually became 300 kilometers wide and several kilometers deep, filled with rock debris and a thick layer of molten rock.

A nationwide coin design competition was held for the 2008 theme: “The Vredefort Dome – World Heritage Site”. The winning
design by Kasturi Pillay features on the 2008 R2 commemorative gold coin.

R2 Gold Coin Specifications

R2 (1/4 oz) Gold Coin

Limited Edition:2000

The 24 carat gold R2 (1/4 oz) coin is packaged in a black leatherette box. Each coin issued has an individually numbered Certificate of
Authenticity. This Certificate of Authenticity guarantees the quality and content of this product and also guarantees that this product
was manufactured by the South African Mint Company.

Certificate of Authenticity

Each coin and coin set issued by the South African Mint Company has a certificate of authenticity. These certificates features the year,
coin specifications, limited edition and a description of the product, as well as bearing the signature of the South African Mint’s
Managing Director, Mr Andile Mvinjelwa. To prevent the duplication of a South African Mint product the certificates are re-designed
each year to include the original coin designs and each certificate is individually numbered according to the limited edition of the coin
or coin set. The South African Mint’s logo features as part of the layout, but it is also printed on the certificate in a transparent ink,
which is only visible under ultra-violet light.