The South African Reserve Bank has unveiled the design and composition of South Africa’s new circulation coins, which become legal tender from 1 January 2023.
The coins have made a host of changes to the designs of the money South Africans have become accustomed to over the last few decades and swapped out some of the more dated aspects of the current circulation coins for a more modern feel.
One of the more noticeable changes can be seen in the two-tone R5 coin, which is ditching the iconic buffalo as its featured animal and replacing it with the southern right whale.
The R2 coin has replaced the kudu with the springbuck and shifts the borders around for a more diamond shape. The R1 coin replaces the springbuck with South Africa’s official flower, the protea, and has a new pentagonal border.
The cent coins are also seeing significant changes: the 50 cent coin is dropping the strelitzia – the bird of paradise – for an actual bird, with the loerie (turaco) making its debut in circulation. The coin has also adopted a hexagonal border, cutting down from the nonagonal (9-sided) shape before.
The protea’s promotion to the R1 has left space in the 20-cent coin for another plant, with the coin now playing host to aloe. Its border has also dropped from a nonagon and is now a heptagon (7-sided).
South Africa’s smallest coin denomination – the 10-cent – is bidding farewell to the arum lily and making way for the honeybee. Its border is dropping one side to become an octagon.
The R5 coin will maintain its bi-metal alloy, while the R2 and R1 will be nickel-plated steel. The 50-cent and 20-cent coins will be bronze-plated steel, with the 10 cents coin being copper-plated steel.
As announced by the SARB earlier in the year, the new coins will have the word “South Africa” inserted on one side of the coins and printed in all the official languages through an annual rotation.
For the next ten years, the languages will be alternated annually.
The following number of languages will be minted of the various coin varieties:
- R5 – three languages will be used;
- R2, 50c, and 10c – two languages will be used;
- R1 – only one language will be used.
You can see how the old and new coins compare below.
Read: New coins for South Africa in 2023 – including big design changes
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