Millo, No sorry it wasnt minted then,
this must be a commemorative medal, the original mintage of the 2 types of Burgersponde (Course beard and fine beard variety are 695 and 142 for the coarse beard.The original Die broke after the minting of the Fine Beard.
Fine Beard Burgers Pond - mintage 695 pieces
The beard shows one thick front point, then two longer and thinner points followed by three shorter points. The front of the beard is wavy. The burr on the edge of the obverse of the coin shows a double ring. The impression of the effigy is very sharp.
The lower neck hair is less pronounced than in the coarse beard variety.
Coarse Beard Burgers Pond - mintage 142 pieces
The beard shows four thick points, the front pair being shorter than the back. The beard is heavier and flatter in curvature. The burr is on the edge of the reverse. In addition the 8 in the date 1874 on some pieces appears to be a double 8.
The lower neck hair is more pronounced than in the fine beard variety and can still be clearly identified in pieces VF or lower.
These item demands very high prices in unc.
I have found a few different types of burgerspond commemorative coins as below.
The SA Mint issued a limited edition set of 4 coins in 1993,
4 minted in different sizes as a set, the regular 1/10, 1/4, 1/2 and 1 Oz, maybe yours was one of a set.
Also a single Commemorative Medallion ZAR Burgers Pond
1874 - 1877
Weight is a whopping 408g 22ct Gold or 13.11751 in Troy ounces.
This is a big medal. So it does not sound like yours
and also
"Quoted from the Mint"
To commemorate the inauguration of the newly formed Republiek in 1874 and the appointment of Thomas Francois Burgers as the first President of the ZAR Republiek, a special gold coin was minted to celebrate this occasion. 837 of these gold coins or Ponde, were minted which is very low indeed. However, it was only-some 70 years later that it was discovered that 2 types of these coins were actually minted... the Course Beard and Fine Beard variety.
In fact, the mintage of the Fine Beard was 695 and the Course Beard 142, even more scarce than originally believed, and their values are R150,000 and R.300,000 respectively..... are these the Kruger millions? ($20,000 and $39000.)
To commemorate the 130th Anniversary of this event, and the first South African gold coin, we have minted a special gold set that includes both of these scarce and highly desirable coins.... the Course Beard and the Fine Beard Ponde.
There is a set of 3 with one Krugerrand, one Coarse Beard and one Fine Beard.
If you can give the size and weight, I might be able to better search and find the specific medallion.
These are all part of very low mintage limited sets.
Posted 06/21/2010 8:53 pm
