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RSA (Post -1994): Bi-Centennial of the Griqua Town Coinage - Replica Set

RSA (Post -1994): Bi-Centennial of the Griqua Town Coinage - Replica SetRSA (Post -1994): Bi-Centennial of the Griqua Town Coinage - Replica Set
RSA (Post -1994): Bi-Centennial of the Griqua Town Coinage - Replica SetRSA (Post -1994): Bi-Centennial of the Griqua Town Coinage - Replica Set
RSA (Post -1994): Bi-Centennial of the Griqua Town Coinage - Replica SetRSA (Post -1994): Bi-Centennial of the Griqua Town Coinage - Replica Set
RSA (Post -1994): Bi-Centennial of the Griqua Town Coinage - Replica SetRSA (Post -1994): Bi-Centennial of the Griqua Town Coinage - Replica Set
RSA (Post -1994): Bi-Centennial of the Griqua Town Coinage - Replica SetRSA (Post -1994): Bi-Centennial of the Griqua Town Coinage - Replica Set
Form: Circular
By: Gold Reef City Mint / National Numismatic Society
Date: 2015
Ref:  Laidlaw: 1041b;
Variations:
SizeMetalMassValue
26.6 mmFine Silver (10 Piece)6.4 gm$10
21.4 mmFine Silver (IIIII Piece)4.5 gm$5
25.8 mmAged Copper (½ Piece)6.7 gm$5
21.4 mmAged Copper (¼ Piece)4.6 gm$5
-Set of Four-$25

Edge: Plain.

Obverse: Replica of the obverse of the Griqua Town coinage. Within a toothed border round the rim, emblem of the London Missionary Society, dove with outstretched wings, front, head turned right with olive sprig in beak. Legend at the bottom: "1815-2015"

Reverse: Replica of the reverse of the Griqua Town coinage. Within a toothed border round the rim, denomination (10 between horizontal lines, IIIII between horizontal lines, ½ or ¼) between: "GRIQUA (in an arc above) TOWN (inverted in an arc below)".

Notes: Comes protected inside a transparent soft-plastic holder with pockets for each coin. The holder is labelled: "GRIQUA TOWN UNCIRCULATED SET" with an image of the reverse of the 10 Piece.

Made at the Gold Reef City Mint for the National Numismatic Society and issued at their annual dinner on 5 March 2016 together with the commemorative medal set (Laidlaw 1041a). As a souvenir for those attending the dinner, a fly-press was used to stamp the obverse of the ¼ Piece with: "GRC NNS" above the dove.

This set is a replication of the Griqua Town coinage which was an attempt to introduce, for the first time in South African, coinage for a non-European people. The Griquas were a mixed race of European, slave and Khoikhoi (Hottentot) elements. By the second decade of the 19th century the tribe had settled on land granted to them by the government of the Cape Colony north of the Orange River close to present-day Kimberley. The Griqua population was about 1,200 and, because of their small numbers and mixed heritage, the people were viewed by the missionaries of the day as a promising crucible into which the reforms of western civilisation could be introduced. The Reverend John Campbell of the London Missionary Society was of the opinion that coinage could be used as a means to this end. Apparently at his own expense, Campbell arranged for the four denominations of coins, designed by Thomas Halliday, to be struck in England. It is believed that the first batch was procured in 1815 and a second a year later; but the number of coins in each batch is unknown. Unfortunately for Campbell’s noble intentions, the Griqua economy was based on barter and the people had no need for coinage. For what purpose the coins were actually used is an open question. The large gap in denominated values between the copper and silver coins would have made them impractical for use in trade. The coinage must have been regarded as a failed experiment and a few years later the coins were gathered together and melted down. A few survived, including trial strikes and proof examples, and these have become valuable and intriguing numismatic pieces.