Krugerrand Silver 1oz Coin (2020)

Silver Krugerrand 1oz coin

For the third year, the South African Mint has produced a 1oz silver bullion version of their famous Krugerrand. These are brand new silver 1oz coins coming in single sachets, tubes of 25 coins, or monster boxes of 500. These aren’t to be confused with 2017’s first batch of silver Krugerrands which cost double the price of this silver bullion version. Coins are sold here exclusively without VAT, enabling you the cheapest access to the world-famous Krugerrand coin. Each coin is struck by the Rand Refinery of South Africa to 999.0 purity and weighs 1oz. The coin has a face value of one Rand.

Krugerrand design and history

The design of the silver Krugerrand will be familiar to anyone interested in gold coins as it’s an exact replica of the famous gold Krugerrand. The front of the coin features the untouched portrait of Paul Kruger, the South African president at the time of the original Krugerrands launch in 1967. Around the portrait are the words ‘Suid-Afrika’ and the English version ‘South Africa’. The reverse of the coin presents the similarly familiar South African Springbok, their native antelope. An ornate edging surrounds the reverse, with written information within that boundary. Wording includes the coin name ‘Krugerrand’, the year of issue, the coin weight and metal.

Krugerrand reputation

The Krugerrands reputation and success stems from its simple marketing and mass production. First launched over 50 years ago, it was the first bullion coin to contain exactly 1oz of pure gold (22 carat). This simplicity appealed to a growing investment market who could more easily track the coin’s value. While initially, the annual mintage was around 40-50,000, its incredible reception encouraged mintage figures to rise dramatically during its heyday of the 1970’s, peaking at around 6 million issued in 1978. Due to this high level of accessibility, the Krugerrand benefits from an excellent second-hand market.

Our expert opinion

The launch of this highly anticipated silver coin was a long time coming. While the gold 1oz version was first to market, it’s interesting that the silver launch lags behind all it’s competitors. The gold Krugerrand’s success was based on its unfussiness and incredible value, enabling investors to access the gold market with tight bid/offer margins. We expect the silver coin to provide similar access and to enjoy comparable success. While it blazed a trail for precious metals in the late 1960’s, the Krugerrand spawned the launch of the Gold Britannia 20 years later, as the Royal Mint sought to grab some of its market share. A reversal of roles, now sees the South African mint launching their silver coin 21 years after the Silver Britannia was launched. The UK coin has gone on to become our best seller as it targets the same popular market as the Krugerrand, those seeking a low cost entry into the market. Of course, the Britannia also benefits from being Capital Gains Tax free for UK investors, so we expect it to remain the top seller on these shores, but no doubt the silver Krugerrand will sell in its thousands both in the UK and on the continent.