'The lost hoard' of rare SA gold coins found in a Swiss vault released

A trove of SA gold coins — discovered in a Swiss vault — has been released by the SA Mint.

Honey Mamabolo, MD of the mint, said that while it was true that gold was moved from Pretoria by the then Transvaal government during the second Anglo-Boer War, “no accurate account has ever been produced of its fate, spawning an urban legend of the ‘Kruger Millions’".

“The appeal of this missing gold thus makes the recent discovery of a large parcel of the gold Kruger ponde [pounds] a significant find,” she said.

Named “the lost hoard” by the numismatic community, the Kruger coins were stored in the Netherlands during the early 20th century.

The parcel was then transferred to Switzerland before the second World War (1939—1945) for safekeeping and remained in a Swiss vault for decades, until it was recently sold at an auction.

“The authenticity of the lost hoard find has been independently verified and graded by the Numismatic Guarantee Corporation in Florida, in the US. Each coin has been individually graded, certified and slabbed. The certification confirms the authenticity, legal tender status (1893—1900) as well as the correct weight of each individual coin,” said Mamabolo.

Currently in the possession of the SA Mint, the coins are available for purchase, along with a 2019 limited-edition privy-mark Krugerrand.

“The discovery of the Lost Hoard is truly awe-inspiring, and it is with great pride that we offer the coin sets to the numismatic fraternity. The sets are the closest, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to physically own authentic remnants of the Transvaal gold,” said Mamabolo.

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