A Brief History In 1891, with the election coming up and with
President Kruger facing strong opposition, he was anxious to
bring the Republics new coins into circulation. The new Mint was
not yet operating so the President placed an order for coins
dated 1892 with the Kaisermunt in Berlin. The first consignment
of pounds, half pounds and crowns arrived with two shafts on the
wagon and similar size front and rear wheels in the coat of
arms. (The traditional Voortrekker wagon had a single shaft and
rear wheels larger than the front wheels.) To add insult to
injury the designer, Otto Schultz, had followed custom and
placed his initials below Kruger’s’ bust - which is Afrikaans
for ox. This mistake almost cost Kruger the election.
Subsequently, new coins with the appropriate correction were
brought into circulation. The ‘offensive’ coins had received so
much publicity that many were kept as mementos. This is why they
can still be found in mint condition, though very scarce. Among
the first issues of all the coins