AFRICAN COINS...LET'S SEE THEM!

1992 South African Rand
Are these cupronickel?

 

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Nickel plated copper

 

Ok, thanks.

 

My Contribution to this topic:


PCGS PF 66 CAM 1952 South Africa 1 pound gold coin. One of the only 2 series of gold coins with King George VI on the obverse (the other being the 1937 sovereigns). Fairly rare at less than 12,000 minted and hard to find with CAM or DCAM. Unlike their 1937 counterparts these are relatively affordable as I snagged this piece off eBay for like 700 USD as a raw coin.


1916 T German East Africa 15 Rupien PCGS UNC details bent. Perhaps one of the most famous siege coins of WW1. Minted in a train carriage in Tabora to pay for the local Askari troops using unrefined gold from a local mine. They are now highly sough after and desirable.


1966 Rhodesia 10 shillings gold coin. One of the lesser known facts is that the Rhodesian government minted a set of gold coins in 1966 for collectors that consist of the 10 shillings, 1 pound, and 5 pounds. They are highly sought after in modern times.

 

Super nice gold coins there, thanks! I only have one coin from Tabora, this 1916 20 heller

 

1982 West African States 5000 CFA Francs, struck in gold. Mintage: 12
This coin is graded Specimen 68 at PCGS (those are die polishing lines)

 

1954 50 Centimes, Belgian Congo/Ruanda-Urundi Silver Essai KM E3; Rare. This is the last piece from this region of the Belgian Congo that I have needed. I’ve been looking for many years. This also fulfills my goal of adding three coins that I needed for my Belgian Congo collection this year. Looks beautiful and original.

 

1/2 CENT COIN - SIERRA LEONE - SIR MILTON MARGAI
(KM 16)

Date: A.D. 1964

Obverse: Portrait head right - UNITY FREEDOM JUSTICE SIR MILTON MARGAI

Reverse: Denomination between two Bonga shad fish - SIERRA LEONE HALF CENT 1964


1oz KRUGERRAND - SOUTH AFRICA (KM 73)

Date: A.D. 1984

Obverse: Portrait bust left of Paul Kruger - SUID-AFRIKA / SOUTH AFRICA -

Reverse: Springbok antelope - KRUGERRAND 1984 FYNGOUD 1OZ FINE GOLD CLS

Engraver Obv: From original design of Otto Schultz by Tommy Sasseen

Engraver Rev: Coert Steynberg



HALF PENNY COIN - RHODESIA AND NYASALAND - GIRAFFES
(KM 1)

Date: 1958

Obverse: Giraffes standing facing each other with crown in between - THE SECOND QUEEN ELIZABETH

Reverse: Sprigs, Date, Denomination and Country Name - Half Penny / 1958 / Rhodesia and Nyasaland

Engraver: Bernard Ralph Sindall


ONE PENNY COIN - RHODESIA AND NYASALAND - ELEPHANTS
(KM 2)

Date: 1957

Obverse: Elephants standing facing each other with crown in between - THE SECOND QUEEN ELIZABETH

Reverse: Sprigs, Date, Denomination and Country Name - One Penny / 1957 / Rhodesia and Nyasaland

Engraver: Bernard Ralph Sindall



50 CENT COIN - KENYA - PRESIDENT (MZEE) JOMO KENYATTA
(KM 13)

Date: A.D. 1969

Obverse: Portrait head left - THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF KENYA - MZEE JOMO KENYATA

Reverse: Coat of Arms of Kenya: Shield and crossed speers with lions to each side - REPUBLIC OF KENYA 50 CENTS 1969

Engraver: Norman Sillman



10 MAKUTA COIN - ZAIRE (DRC) - DEPICTING MOBUTU SESE SEKO
(KM 7)

Date: A.D. 1975

Obverse: Portrait head forward right - BANQUE DU ZAIRE

Reverse: Coat of arms of Zaire and the national motto - 1975 DIX 10 MAKUTA / JUSTICE PAIX TRAVAIL (Justice, Peace, Work)



5 CENT COIN - TANZANIA - JULIUS KAMBARAGE NYERERE
(KM 1)

Date: A.D. 1974

Obverse: Portrait head left - TANZANIA 1974 RAIS WA KWANZA

Reverse: Sailfish jumping to left - SENTI TANO 5 (Tano is FIVE in Swahili)

Engraver: Christopher Ironside

I respect Julius Kambarage a great deal. He was a man who truly sought to help his country and he was honest. He recognized that he had failed to do what he had hoped to accomplish. On his voluntary retirement in 1985 he made a rare and frank admission 'lets face it, I failed'.

 

Tunisia 1917-A 50 centimes with awesome toning.

British West Africa 1919-KN, Penny, one of the key dates/mintmarks.

 

I absolutely love this coin and have this in regular aluminum, essai in aluminum and essai in silver. I don't recall if they were issued in Piefort or not (or in Gold?). I believe there are two variants on the currency type but maybe a few others can comment.

 

7Jags I have ESSAI examples in aluminum, silver, and copper-nickel. I also have a uniface bronze reverse (Lion side) die trial piefort. There were reportedly gold ESSAIS struck, but I have yet to find one. Love to own one! The silver and copper-nickel pieces are pretty rare. The aluminum might be considered scarce, but the gold might not even still exist.

 

I have posted this elsewhere but I really like the 1984 Franklin Mint issues of Liberia - the mintmark is VERY hard to find!

 

This is not the forum for a political discussion but I have to say that, although Nyerere was an honest and decent man, his socialist economic policies discouraged foreign investment and were terrible for his country

 

My Conservation coins again (one of my fav. modern coin issues)
Zaire
AV 100 Zaire African Leopard 1975
AR 5 Zaire Mountain Gorilla 1975
AR 2.5 Zaire Okapi 1975
Zaire formerly the Belgian Congo has had a troubled history.
King Leopold II of Begium named it the "Congo Free State" it was really akin to Stalin's oppressive USSR. Twenty Million perished from 1885-1908. Slaves who broke the rules where multilated/ shot/ worked to death.

 

The quotes should be around the Belgian Congo. It was the Congo Free State. The Belgian government didn't buy in to his project until they were forced by international pressure to relieve him of it. Most of those countries also profited from the colony.

Also, there is no way of knowing how many people died during that time in the Congo. There was no census taken until after the Belgian government took control thus there was no way of knowing how many people lived and died there. To make a statement like "20 million perished" during those years is highly misleading mainly because it is based on pure conjecture. Not only is there no way of knowing how many people died there during that time, there was many ways to die in the Congo then and now and Europeans only had effective control of a small portion of that land.

I could just as easily say that "30 million people perished during the Obama presidency" and leave it at that. Difference is we have records to back that up and we know how most of them died.

Don't get me wrong, I am not an apologist for Leopold. Whatever happened there rests at his feet and there is no doubt that serious crimes against humanity happened there....that phrase was derived by by George Washington Williams just to describe what he saw there.

I simply think it is important that history is not distorted. Most people who have studied and researched the Congo Free State have concluded the same thing...numbers are just a wild guess. Maybe some day we will have a better idea. But what we DO know is damning enough.

 

I imagine that millions died there, but it will likely never be known even close to a true number. Too much time has passed, and too little documentation. It still remains my favorite area to collect.

 

I remember in school we took history lessons on the colonization of the African continent. However, there was not a peep about what really happened in the Belgian Congo. It was just like when the US had Stalin as an ally/ the Ukraine Genocide/ Purges where never brought up. Belgium was on the Allied side/ so it was hidden.
I had never heard about Leopold's crimes, until I watched that recent "Tarzan" movie. Hollywood however showed a "sanitized" version of actual events. What happened in the "Congo Free State" from 1885-1908 was akin to the USSRs GULAG system 1921-53. Of course, Stalin/ Mao where 10 times worst then Leopold II.
John

 

Back to coins...more conservation series.....
Sudan
AV 100 Pounds 1976