The Griqua Town R5 coin celebrates the history of South

African coinage
13 January 2016The Griqua Town 200 R5 coin, released by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB)
on 12 January, celebrates the 200th anniversary of the creation of the first coinage in South
Africa.As the first town to be established north of the Orange River, Griekwastad, or Griquatown as
it is sometimes known in English, is one of the country's most important foundation towns. It was a
stopover on the trade route and so was important for commerce throughout the history of the
country. The town, 168 kilometres north of Kimberley, is also known for its abundance of semiprecious stones.The Griqua currency became the first South African currency in 1815, according to
the Reserve Bank. It also became the country's first decimal coinage and the world's first Christian
Missionary coinage.The town is considered an important missionary town, and was the home of
Scottish minister Robert Moffat, who wrote the first Sesotho translation of the bible.The R5 coin
features an image of the original 1815 Griquatown coin, engraved with the words "Coinage of Griqua
Town 200. 1815 2015". The other side of the coin bears the South African coat of arms and the
acronym, SARB.Please Retweet: @SAReserveBank commemorative R5 coin celebrating 200 years
of coinage https://t.co/8VBxHwevF7 pic.twitter.com/Fn2IQTFi29
South African Gov (@GovernmentZA) January 12, 2016The Griqua Town R5 coin is the fourth
commemorative R5 issued by the Reserve Bank since the first bi-metallic R5 was introduced in 2004.
Other notable commemorative coins include the 2008 Nelson Mandela 90th birthday coin and the
20th anniversary of democracy coin, issued in 2014.[embedded content]The coin, with its bronzecoloured centre and a silver-coloured border, includes security features such as the serrated and
grooved edges and micro-lettering. These features are still part of the Griqua coin.The Griqua coin
will be part of normal circulation and will be considered legal tender, alongside other R5 coins
already in circulation throughout the country. According to the Reserve Bank, the coin has a face
value of R5; it encourages the public to recirculate the coins.For coin collectors, the South African
Mint, a subsidiary of the SARB, has issued special Griqua Town Coin Sets which include R5 noncirculation coins. The sets include R2 silver crowns, R2 gold coins and R5 regular circulation coins.
These sets are available at the Mint in Centurion, Gauteng.[embedded content]Source: South African
Government News Agency
http://www.southafrica.info/about/history/new-R5-coin-issued-130116.htm