Coins of the World

South Africa, Paul Kruger, Proof Half-Pond, 1892, double shaft (Hern 38; KM 3; F 3). About as struck, extremely rare
£20,000-25,000

Slabbed in NGC holder, graded PF 63 Cameo.

About 20 struck. Although a lease had been granted in 1891 to the Nationale Bank of the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek to establish a state mint in Pretoria, President Kruger was anxious to get new coins into circulation and placed an order with the Royal Prussian mint at Berlin. The task of engraving the dies was assigned to Otto Schultz (1848-1911), the Berliner who had enjoyed a varied career working with the Loos medallic business in the city and with L.C. Wyon at the Royal Mint, London, before joining the Berlin mint as Second Medallist under Emil Weigand (1837-1906). Initially Schultz engraved the ox-wagon on the three largest denominations with two shafts, instead of the single shaft of the disselboom [wagon with a single pole] represented in the arms of the Republic. This, and the fact that Schultz placed his initials below the bust of Kruger, which were interpreted in Afrikaans as ox, meant that the first shipment of coins from Berlin were ill-received in the Republic. On Kruger’s orders the dies were altered and it was not until 1893 that the new Pretoria mint started striking 1892-dated coins from Berlin-prepared dies