Cape Town - The South African Mint Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the South African Reserve Bank, has completed the development and production of its first large format coin range, extending the Big 5 Series ll offering.
On Monday, SA Mint announced the launch of Big 5 Series ll Elephant 5oz and 1kg coins, in fine-silver and 24ct gold.
The 1kg coins are the first coins of this size to be produced by a mint on the continent.
The 5oz gold coin on the other hand, makes a return following its first appearance in 2017 to commemorate 50 years of the Krugerrand in 2017 and again in 2022 to mark 55 years of the iconic coin.
“While the Mint has been manufacturing full ounce and fractional sized coins for decades, we have only ever attempted large diameter coin production as once-off special edition products to commemorate special anniversaries.
“We have now joined the pre-eminent mints of the world in adding these beautiful and extremely rare coin products as a permanent fixture in our portfolio” said SA Mint managing director, Honey Mamabolo.
The large formats will follow the same sequence of release that the Big 5 series has become famous for, beginning with the elephant design, followed by the lion, rhino, leopard and lastly, the buffalo.
The new coins bear the same design as those of the established 1oz and 1/4oz Big 5 coins.
The wider diameter surfaces magnify and enhance the wildlife illustrations commissioned from local artist, Kotie Geldenhuys.
Cape Times