Page 20 - 2020 Booklet

SOUTH AFRICAN INNOVATIONS SERIES

Marking 50 years since the moon landing

The Mint celebrated the 50th anniversary of NASA’s moon
landing through the Apollo programme with the addition of a
limited-edition coin set to the standard range. Only 500 units of
this special set – containing a R1 Krugerrand and a R2 sterling-
silver crown – have been minted. This set adds to the existing
‘South African Inventions’ Crown and Tickey coin range, which
was introduced to highlight globally relevant inventions and
firsts by South Africans.
In this set, the world-famous polymer putty, known as Pratley
Putty, takes centre stage.
Developed by inventor George Montague (Monty) Pratley
and chemist Frank Robinson, the putty was used on the
Ranger 9 spacecraft. The Ranger 9 was the last of
the lunar probes, which laid the groundwork for
the first successful moon landing and return by
man: the NASA Apollo XI mission.

18