Among the more popular gold coins around is the Krugerrand which the South African government issues, the Krugerrand is one of the oldest gold coins issued in the world with a standard gold content or fineness of 0.916. The coin was first minted in 1967 by the South African mint with the sole purpose of marketing South African Gold to the world. The point behind the minting of the Krugerrand was to encourage the private ownership of gold and the plus point of the Krugerrand to those who own is the fact that this particular coin enjoyed the status of being ‘legal tender’. It was the introduction and the success of the Krugerrand that sparked the production of the Canadian Coin (Maple Leaf) towards the end of the 70s (1979) which was followed by the production of the Australian Nugget 2 years later in 1981. Only after a year later did the Chinese Panda arrive in the market a year later followed by the American eagle in 1986. The last in the series was the introduction of the Britannia coin which was introduced in 1987.

Physically the Krugerrand Gold Coin is exactly 32.77 millimetres in diameter with a thickness of 2.84 millimetres. The weight of this popular gold coin is 1.0909 troy ounces which is equivalent to 33.93 grams.  The coin is minted from 22 Karat gold which is 91.67 % pure gold with 8.33 % consisting of copper (also commonly referred to as crown gold). The coin was basically named after the statesman Paul Kruger who served as the president of the South African Republic for 4 terms. The coin bears his face on one side and has a depiction of the springbok on the other side (the springbok is one of the many national symbols representing South Africa).

After 1980 the Krugerrand was reintroduced in different denominations besides the 1 oz with the ½ (16.965 grams), ¼ (1.888 grams) and 1/10 (1.35 grams) oz being introduced into the market. Proof Krugerrand can also be acquired in the market; however proof Krugerrand are more of a collector’s item rather than an investment bullion as the prices of proof coins usually have a higher value than gold bullion market price.

Whatever the form that the precious metal comes in, it is without any doubt that it is one of the few commodities in this world through which value in terms of purchase power may be preserved when purchased and stored safely as a long term investment. Investing in gold takes on many forms and the easiest way is to buy gold coins and the African Krugerrand is among the most popular among gold coins that people invest in as the coin is not only a recognised asset, it is also acknowledged for its growth in value with regards to numismatics as some of these coins are issued under ‘limited edition’ series which make them desirable to collectors who quickly drive the prices of these coins up in a bid to own them.