Page 77 - Demo

Before unification in 1910, the four territories of South Africa – the Cape, Natal, Free State and Transvaal – had their own currencies or monetary units. The Cape used the Spanish real (also known as the ‘real of eights’) until 1680. The Cape replaced the Spanish real with the ryksdaalder (rixdollar) as the region’s unit of account (Arndt and Richards, 1929). Because of historical factors, such as the fact that the Cape was a popular shipping transit route, the Dutch and silver coins circulating in the area were “supplemented by a heterogeneous collection of foreign gold and silver coins, chief of which was the Spanish dollar,” (Arndt and Richards, 1929).
One consequence of the American War of Independence was that it cut off the Netherlands from the Cape. This necessitated a change which resulted in authority being granted for “the issue of inconvertible paper for the first time in the history of South Africa by a proclamation of May 31, 1782.”.
Sterling was introduced in 1825. In 1881, the British Coinage Act of 1870 “was applied in its entirely in the Cape.”
In Natal, the British Coinage Act of 1870 was introduced in 1882. “Natal ... was spared all the undesirable experiences of an inconvertible paper circulation.” In 1862, sterling money was introduced in the Free State through the establishment of its first bank.
The Transvaal “... for many years existed practically exclusively upon the issues of paper money.” In 1873, the Transvaal “rid itself of paper money.” The discovery of gold and subsequent development of goldfields led to a concession being granted in 1890 for the establishment of a Mint. This was followed by the passing of the Mint Law No. 14 of 1891, “by which a coinage system practically identical with the British law was ... adopted.”
Following the unification of the four territories and the founding of the Union of South Africa, the British Coinage Act of 1870 (and its amendment of 1891) applied to the entire Union in 1911. In 1919, the Union made preparations to establish its own Mint. This was made possible by the Pretoria Mint Act of 1919, and in 1923 the Royal Mint Pretoria began operations.
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