History of the Nickel Coins of South Africa

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South African coin designs of 1965.

This book tells the story of the South African coin series first issued in 1965. The book was first published in 2012. It was privately produced by the South African numismatist Francois Malan. You may therefore have to hunt for a used edition. My own copy is used but is in excellent condition.

The book has 231 quality glossy pages. Its weight is 0.520 kg. Its dimensions are 240 × 180 × 12 mm. It is somewhat smaller than A4 size but is of a nice medium-large format.

The book is generously illustrated and shows various paintings, sketches and patterns. Most but not all are directly related to the coins and designs of this beautiful series. They include portraits of Jan van Riebeeck.

The book provides an excellent insight into the history of the set and its production. It includes photos of the key artists and engravers, among them Cythna Letty, Dick Findlay and Tommy Sasseen. Mr. Sasseen kindly shared his memories of the production of the series with the author.

I learnt new details about the coin series from this book: how the designs relate to the colours of the old South African flag and also the provinces of South Africa, and much more besides. Public and press reaction to the coins are also included.

The subtitle of the book is The coin series designed to last a hundred years. It analyses the use of nickel as a coinage metal, since the nickel coins included in the set were intended to make this series extremely long-lasting. The set did not ultimately endure for 100 years, of course, and the author goes into this subject too. He provides photos of and references to the coins of other countries that used nickel in their coinage.

A brief history of the South African Mint, with relevant photos of the building and its production facilities, is included. This will appeal to readers who are interested in production.

Personally, I bought this book in the hope that it would include large illustrations of the sketches and patterns leading up to the issued series. In that aim, I was not disappointed, and I am more than pleased with my purchase.

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Here are a couple of links to the book and its description:

1] 2012 Francois Malan - Coins For A Hundred Years - Hard Cover.

2] History of the Nickel Coins of South Africa – Francois Malan.

I own the second version - the soft cover. It is a nice medium-large sized book.

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See also: Book: South African Coins and Patterns.

I bought that book earlier last year in the hope of seeing some illustrations of patterns. Unfortunately it is not  a large-sized book, and the illustrations are rather small. It covers a wider historical range than the book that this topic is about, and I did learn some useful facts from it.

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Unfortunately, neither link provides an ISBN. Can you look it up in your copy, so it can be added to our bibliography?

Peter

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Unfortunately it has no ISBN. I looked for one before I posted this topic.

That is presumably because the book was privately published.