RARE !!! 1892 South Africa gold coin 1 POND DOUBLE SHAFT.

Description

RARE !!! 1892 South Africa gold coin 1 POND DOUBLE SHAFT.
The first issue of South African 1 Pond coins was produced by the
Royal Prussian Mint in Berlin, Germany. Unfortunately, a series of mistakes by the German coin
designer resulted in this coin being seen as a farce, which resulted in the coins recall almost
immediately after it was issued.
Country: South Africa
Date: 1892
Denomination: 1 Pond
Mintage: 16,000 only
Diameter: 22 mm
Composition:   .917 FINE Gold.
Gross Weight:  7.9881 Gram
Gold Content:  0.2354 ounce
KM: 10.1
Obverse: Kruger to left, legend around
Reverse: Double shaft on wagon
A bold example of this 1-year type.
Facing an upcoming election and wanting the new coins in circulation to enhance his prestige,
President Kruger didn’t wait for the Pretoria Mint to be completed. Instead, he contracted to have
the first issue of new ZAR coins (dated 1892) struck at the Imperial German Mint in Berlin.
This proved a mistake, as the dies were cut with two mistakes that insulted the populace
and proved quite embarrassing to Kruger and the National Bank. Designer Otto Schultz,
following a common practice, placed his initials ‘OS’ at the truncation of Kruger’s bust.
Unfortunately, OS is the Afrikaans word for ‘ox’, and new dies had to be hastily prepared
omitting the initials.
Even more damaging was the incorrect depiction of the Voortrekker wagon in which
so many families had come to
their new home. This kind of vehicle traditionally had a single hitching shaft
protruding from its front, and its rear wheels were much larger than the front ones.
Schultz instead depicted it with a double
shaft and wheels of equal size throughout - this type of wagon was commonly used
by Gypsies in Europe - and hardly flattering to the hardship and pride of the boers .
16,000 of the one-pound pieces were coined.
In addition, some 12-15 one-pound proofs were coined. These proofs were included
in presentation sets and were probably distributed to figures
who played some role in the creation of the Mint and its coinage.
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