Krugerrand Gold Coins

Buying Krugerrand coins

The South African Krugerrand gold coin has everything you want in an investment; liquidity, portability and quality. Given this is the world’s first bullion coin there is plenty to choose from and are readily available. 

You can purchase South African Krugerrands from our online shop at excellent rates based on current gold spot price:

• Browse our range of 1 oz, 1/2 oz, 1/4 oz, and 1/10 oz Krugerrand coins to find the right match for your stock profile.  
• When you’ve decided which coins you want to invest in, simply add them to your basket and proceed to our online checkout.
• We aim to ship all orders within 1-2 business days, with insured delivery.

Price of gold Kruggerands

The price of Kruggerand gold coins varies, depending on the gold content within the coins and the price of gold at the time. 

A 1 oz Kruggerand weighs 1.09 troy ounces but contains exactly 1 oz (or 24 karats) of pure gold, and so the value of the coin is based on the melt value of 1 oz of gold. We automatically update our prices every minute, based on the current precious metal spot rate, so you can be confident that you’re seeing the most up-to-date pricing.

Krugerrand: Pure investment and value at its highest

The legal tender 22 carat gold Krugerrand was the brainchild of the South African Chamber of Mines and first became available to the public in 1967. The coin was minted in an effort to help promote South African gold internationally and allow gold bullion to be accessible to everyone. The Krugerrand was the first gold coin to contain exactly one troy ounce of gold. It would become legal tender and sold at a relatively low premium over the current gold price.

Intense marketing took place in America and Europe, and soon the Krugerrand dominated the world’s coin market. In the 1980s, the Krugerrand accounted for 89% of the global gold coin market, and the fractional Krugerrands (1/2oz, 1/4 oz and 1/10 oz) were added to the 1 oz version, making it affordable to more people. 

For many years the Krugerrand stood alone as the only gold bullion coin available to the international market, but during the years when sanctions against the South African government were applied in the mid-1980s, other mints took the opportunity to issue their own legal tender bullion coins. 

By this time, the Krugerrand had already become one of the world’s leading brand names, and with the lifting of the apartheid in 1994 and the ascent of Nelson Mandela to the office of President of South Africa, the coin regained its status as one of the leading gold bullion coins traded worldwide. 

It remains so today, with over 46,000,000 pieces (1,420 tonnes of gold) in circulation. The South African Krugerrand is internationally the most popular investment gold bullion coin.

Krugerrand gold in detail

The 1 oz Krugerrand is 32.77 mm in diameter and 2.84 mm thick. It weighs 1.09 troy ounces (33.93 g) and it is minted from the same crown gold alloy (22 karats) traditionally used for gold Sovereigns, the only gold bullion coins (although much smaller) in the market before the Krugerrand.

The Krugerrand derives its name from combining the names of Paul Kruger, a well-known Boer leader, statesman and local hero, four-term president of the old South African Republic, who went on to become the last president of the Republic of South Africa, and the ‘rand’, the monetary unit of South Africa. 

The obverse side of the coin is detailed with a profiled bust of President Paul Kruger, designed by O. Schultz, which was struck from the original die used in 1892 for the Kruger half-crown coin and features the name of the country in the country’s two native languages, English and Afrikaans. 

The reverse side of the coin was designed and engraved by Coert Steynberg, a famous South African sculptor, and depicts the image of a prancing springbok antelope, one of the national symbols of South Africa, originally used on the South African 5-shilling piece. 

The reverse side also features the name of the coin, the year of issue, the gold contents, and the words ‘FYNGOUD’ and ‘FINE GOLD’. While there are many gold coins available on the market, the South African Krugerrand is the original government-issued one troy ounce gold bullion coin that is valued on the content of its gold, rather than the face value of the coin.

The production of the Krugerrand

From refining gold to making the dies, and from mixing the alloy to producing blanks and striking the coins, the process of minting the Krugerrand is as close to perfection as it can get.
During the eighties, the Government initiated the deregulation of State activities and the South African Mint was privatised, with the SA Reserve Bank as the holding company. The South African Mint Company (Pty) Ltd was established on 1 September 1988 as a full subsidiary of the SA Reserve Bank.

A dedicated management team and workers control the production process of Krugerrands within a computer-integrated manufacturing system at the South African Mint. In contrast to the modern computerised production processes, the essence of coin making is entirely reliant on the honoured skills of master craftsmen.

The die-sinkers at the South African Mint combine their artistic flair in interpreting designs with the strict discipline that is required in a highly advanced technological environment. The numismatic coin manufacturing process is quite different from circulation coining. 

At the South African Mint, circulation coin manufacturing is an automated, high-speed process whereas the process of manufacturing Krugerrands is very slow and labour intensive. 

South African Mint quality assurance

Rand Refinery (Pty) Limited is the largest integrated single-site precious metals refining and smelting complex in the world. Since its inception, it has refined nearly 50,000 tonnes of gold, which accounts for almost 30% of all the gold mined in the world since antiquity.

All the gold used to manufacture South African legal tender coins is supplied by Rand Refinery. It has been appointed the sole supplier of bullion Krugerrands to primary distributors, locally and internationally. 

Krugerrand quality is impossible to copy. It is the quality of the material, the artistry of the manufacturing, and the exact specifications of the coin (always available on the South African Mint site) that make a genuine Krugerrand stand out from any fake (although there are excellent copies sold legally). But for many experts it is its distinctive yellow-orange colour (coming from the copper in the alloy) that really makes it delightfully unique.

Selling Krugerrand coins

StoneX Bullion buys back South African Krugerrands for competitive rates at market value. If you have any gold coins for sale, feel free to contact a member of our friendly team who will prepare you a fixed quote and send you an email confirmation.

The silver Krugerrand

A new coin entered the market in 2017, the 1oz silver Krugerrand, manufactured by the Rand Refinery in South Africa sets new standards in the world of silver bullion.

Technical data of the Krugerrand

Explore specifications of 1 oz, 1/2 oz, 1/4 oz, and 1/10 oz Krugerrand Gold coins, so you can compare the details and decide which will offer the best investment for your portfolio.

	1 oz	1/2 oz	1/4 oz	1/10 oz
fine weight	31.1035g	15.5517g	7.7759g	3.8879g
gross weight	33.930g	16.965g	8.482g	3.393g
tolerance	+0.007g	+0.0035g	+0.02g	+0.01g
purity	91.67%
minimum diameter	32.61mm	26.93mm	21.94mm	16.45mm
maximum diameter	32.77mm	27.07mm	22.06mm	16.55mm
minimum thickness	2.74mm	2.115mm	1.788mm	1.25mm
maximum thickness	2.84mm	2.215mm	1.888mm	1.35mm
edge notches	180	150	140	115
first issue	1967	1980

Frequently asked questions

Learn more about buying and selling Krugerrand gold coins with StoneX Bullion, including how to pay for your coins and shipping specifications.