In order to encourage private gold ownership, South Africa needed a bullion coin for investors to domestically and internationally buy. The South Africa Gold Krugerrand was minted by the South African Mint in 1967. The South African Mint was more than successful, by 1980, the South Africa Gold Krugerrand accounted for 90% of the global coin market. The South Africa Gold Krugerrand is a compound name of the country's president (Kruger) and South Africa's unit of currency (rand). In the 1970's and 1980's, a few western countries made the import of the South Africa Gold Krugerrand illegal, due to the apartheid regime at the time.
Collectors may notice that finding South Africa Gold Krugerrands from the earlier days of production are deemed very difficult, since from 1967-1969, only 40,000 coins were minted each year. The number increased, in 1970, to 200,000 and by 1978, a total of 6 million South Africa Gold Krugerrands were minted. Following the apartheid, the number of coins minted dropped significantly to 23,000 in 1998 but have since steadily rose again.
