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RSA (Post -1994): Bi-Centennial of the Griqua Town Coinage - Commemorative Set
RSA (Post -1994): Bi-Centennial of the Griqua Town Coinage - Commemorative SetRSA (Post -1994): Bi-Centennial of the Griqua Town Coinage - Commemorative Set
RSA (Post -1994): Bi-Centennial of the Griqua Town Coinage - Commemorative SetRSA (Post -1994): Bi-Centennial of the Griqua Town Coinage - Commemorative Set
RSA (Post -1994): Bi-Centennial of the Griqua Town Coinage - Commemorative SetRSA (Post -1994): Bi-Centennial of the Griqua Town Coinage - Commemorative Set
RSA (Post -1994): Bi-Centennial of the Griqua Town Coinage - Commemorative SetRSA (Post -1994): Bi-Centennial of the Griqua Town Coinage - Commemorative Set
RSA (Post -1994): Bi-Centennial of the Griqua Town Coinage - Commemorative SetRSA (Post -1994): Bi-Centennial of the Griqua Town Coinage - Commemorative Set
Form: Circular. Proof-like.
By: Gold Reef City Mint / National Numismatic Society
Date: 2015
Ref:  Laidlaw: 1041a;
Variations:
SizeMetalMassValue
38.6 mmFine Silver (10 Piece)31.3 gm$30
32.7 mmFine Silver (IIIII Piece)15.7 gm$10
38.7 mmCopper (½ Piece)29.7 gm$15
32.7 mmCopper (¼ Piece)17.7 gm$5
-Cased Set of Four-$65
Edge: Upright reeded.

Obverse: Within a toothed border, replica of the obverse of the Griqua Town coinage. Emblem of the London Missionary Society, dove with outstretched wings, front, head turned right with olive sprig in beak. Legend outside above: "BI-CENTENNIAL OF THE GRIQUA TOWN COINAGE" and below: "1815-2015".

Reverse: Within a toothed border, replica of the reverse of the Griqua Town coinage. Denomination (10 between horizontal lines, IIIII between horizontal lines, ½ or ¼) between: "GRIQUA (in an arc above) TOWN (inverted in an arc below)". Legend outside above: "THE FIRST COINAGE FOR A SOUTH AFRICAN PEOPLE". At the foot: "GRC-NNS".

Notes: Comes in a heavy oblong wooden fitted case lined on the inside with white silk-like and red velvet-like material. Embossed on the outside of the lid with the image of both sides of the 10 piece and below: "1815-1816".

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 replica set (Laidlaw 1041b). Souvenirs of off-metal and off-size medallions were given to those attending the dinner.

There are die errors on the obverse of the larger-sized medals. CENTENNIAL is spelled CENTEN(N)IAL and the Letters A are the inverted V. Also: "GRC-NNS" is missing at the foot on the reverse of the IIIII piece.

The medal set commemorates the attempted introduction of the first 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.