SA Union: Kroonstad Centenary

Form:

Circular

By:

South African Mint

Date:

1955

Ref:

AM2: 338; Laidlaw: 0362;

Variations:

Size	Metal	Mass	Value
31.5 mm	Gold
31.5 mm	Silver	17 gm	$25
32.2 mm	Bronze	15.3 gm	$15

Edge:

Plain.

Obverse:

Coat of arm of Kroonstad with antelope supporters, crown crest and motto: "FINIS CORONA[T] OPUS". Legend on a band above: "EEUFEESKOMITEE . CENTENARY COMMITTEE" and below between stops: "KROONSTAD".

Reverse:

A ribbon folded in the shape of an 'S' inscribed: "EEUFEES (top arc) / 1855-1955 (across middle) / CENTENARY (bottom arc)". Silver medal stamped: "(lion head) STG h (for 1955) S.A.M".

Notes:

Comes inside a blue case lined with white silk and blue velvet with: "SAM" on the inside of the lid.

Kroonstad is a town in the Free State established in 1855 by the Irish pioneer Joseph Orpen. The town was named by him after a horse called, "Kroon", which had drowned in the local river. It is an important railway junction on the main line from Cape Town to Johannesburg.

During the Boer War the town briefly became the capital of the Orange Free State after the fall of Bloemfontein. Subsequently, it was the site of a British concentration camp to accommodate Boer women and children.