Every coin in the country was born here. Since the first mint in eighteen-ninety-two, the South African Mint has been the lifeblood of our economy. Now, 130 years later, the SA Mint remains the leading authority for all coins minted in the country.
In 1992 the Mint relocated from its historic premises in Visagie Street, Pretoria, to its current home in Centurion. The new facility was at the time, one of the most sophisticated manufacturing plants in the world. This move came at a time of great change in the country. The nation’s foremost political figure, Nelson Mandela, had just been released from long imprisonment in 1990 and in 1994, he would become the country’s first democratically elected president.
The waves of change would flood the nation with new hope, and the South African Mint became one of the most significant purveyors of the democratic era. New collectable coins celebrating the country’s natural and cultural heritage emerged in the early years of the move to Centurion and by 1994, the five rand was introduced as a coin and the note discontinued.
By the dawn of the new millennium, the nation’s new identity was embodied in a new coat of arms which stood proud on the obverse of all circulating legal tender coins from the year 2000.
From its modern facility, the Mint brought to life the first bimetal coin in a new R5 in 2004. Today, such innovations are commonplace with additions such as colour coins, laser printing and micro lettering over the years.
Our vibrant Centurion campus welcomes guests from near and far every day, who visit our premises for the retail store and coin museum. We have a lot to celebrate from the past thirty years – and we can’t wait to carve out the next thirty years’ coin making innovation.