Page 71 - SARB: 100-Year Journey

The Spanish dollar 8 real coin (also known as the piece of eight), dated 1628, is one of the first recorded currencies in South Africa.
/Silver Reales Cob
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 entirety 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.
In 1681, the Dutch guilder and its multiples were introduced in the Cape. /Alamy
Circa 1700s, the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC), or Dutch East India Company, the employer of Jan van Riebeeck, introduced its own currency into circulation, the VOC Duit. /Alamy
Great Britain took over control of the Cape in 1806 and introduced its currency, which was used until 1826. /Alamy
In 1782, the first paper money was brought to the Cape. The rixdollar and the striver denominations were the issued paper money, which became the currency of the Cape. /the saleroom
61