Page 102 - SARB: 100-Year Journey

92
The local bankers’ laments did not capture the government’s attention. Dr Vissering’s suggestions in the currency report made some headway. In 1932, a Coinage Bill was tabled in the Union Parliament. The Bill “provided for a decimal coinage system based on the florin and cent, and the minting of a gold ten florin coin to be known as the ‘rand’.” (Arndt, 1961a, p 93). But that Bill did not go far in the legislature, and not much happened on decimalisation in the intervening years.
It was during World War II, amid widespread concerns about wastage and the need for rationalising resources, when decimalisation picked up steam again; hence the establishment of the National Anti-Waste and Conservation Organisation and its various initiatives, including the Becklake Committee appointed in 1945 which was headed by J T Becklake, the former Director of the South African Mint. (Arndt, 1961a, p 94). In other publications, Becklake is referred to as the superintendent of the Royal Mint, Pretoria. Becklake is also listed among the witnesses examined during the Kemmerer-Vissering Inquiry into the gold standard (Kemmerer and Vissering, 1925).
By the time the Council of the South African Bureau of Standards (Bureau) commenced work in 1949, the government was already warming to the principle of decimalisation. Much of the Bureau’s research, which is detailed in a 1954 report that was submitted to the then Minister of Economic Affairs, fed into the bulk of what materialised in the Decimal Coinage Commission.
Simplicity, size of unit, retention of existing coins and the effect on the capacities of monetary machines were the guiding pillars of the Bureau’s inquiry. The Bureau’s investigation on decimalisation considered seven possible systems for the Union, namely: the pound- mil; the pound-cent; the ten shilling-cent; the five shilling-cent; the two shilling-cent; the shilling-cent; and the 8s. 4d.-cent. (Council of the South African Bureau of Standards, 1954).
The Bureau favoured “[the] 10s.-cent system ... [being] a two decimal system, [and] would meet the requirement of simplicity. Fundamentally, this system is based on the existing shilling which would be divided into ten ‘decimal pennies’ or cents, and ten shillings being equal to the proposed major unit. The shilling must be regarded as a very important coin in everyday monetary
transactions, especially in the case of the poorly educated portion of the population.” (Council of the South African Bureau of Standards, 1954, p 19).
The language in the historical texts, even in the technical reports, is pejorative and coarse towards black South Africans, a reflection of the racially charged climate and politically fraught period in which this major policy reform was being considered. Interestingly, the terminology around currency – such as pound and shilling – remains in use among older segments of the black population. In isiXhosa and isiZulu, for example, the R2 is still called iponti (pound), the 10c coin isheleni (shilling), the R10 iiponti ezintlanu (five pounds) and the R20 ishumi leeponti (ten pounds).
In its 1954 report, the Bureau recommended that “... [the] 10s.-cent system be the basis of any future South African decimal coinage system.” (Council of the South African Bureau of Standards, 1954, p 26).
Many colourful names were suggested for the major unit, such as dollar, rixdollar, half-sovereign, half-pound, ducron (i.e. double crown), protea, rand, kudu and Kruger. “Any such designation should be distinctive, short, similar in both official languages and should have no current political associations. After long deliberation and consideration, it is recommended: that the major unit be designated Rixdollar, with the abbreviation Rd.” (Council of the South African Bureau of Standards, 1954, p 33).
The Bureau recommended that the minor unit be designated in a one cent, half cent and quarter cent. This minor unit of the bronze decimal coin would replace the penny, half-penny and farthing. (Council of the South African Bureau of Standards, 1954, pp 34−35).
In the end, “[with] minor exceptions, the Government implemented the more detailed recommendations of the Commission. The most important exceptions were: that the effigy on all new coins was changed to that which had for years appeared on the South African bank notes, viz., that of Jan van Riebeeck; that all new notes and silver coins did not show dual denominations; and that the designation ‘shilling’ as a tenth of the Rand was not retained.” (Arndt, 1961a, p 98).