South Africa introduces new R2 & R5 coins

The South African mint has announced that it will introduce a new R2 coin into circulation.

The coin forms part of the mint’s celebration of 25 years of constitutional democracy, with a number of other coins featuring prominent post-1994 events and rights.

“The new R2 coin represents the ‘Freedom and Security of the Person’ right in the Bill of Rights, as stated in Section 12 of the Bill of Rights of our constitution,” the mint said.

The reverse of the count depicts a women and child walking hand in hand, while the obverse of the coin features the traditional coat of arms and the name of the country in two official languages.

The SARB issues commemorative circulation coins from time to time as part of its currency production function. These coins are issued to commemorate a person or an event that has had a significant impact on society.

Such coins are always produced in large quantities and are made available and accessible to the public at face value.

In 2019, the South African Reserve Bank and the Mint launched a number of new circulation coins, celebrating South Africa’s 25 years of constitutional democracy.

The R2 coins aim to highlight some of the rights that resonated the most with citizens surveyed in South Africa – depicting children’s rights, the right to education and environmental rights, among others.

New R5 coin 

In January, the central bank launched a new R5 coin in celebration of its centenary.

The reverse of the coin features some of the historic coins previously issued by the  SARB in miniature.

These include the old 20 cents coin as well the more image of the R5 coin showing a laughing Nelson Mandela. The older coins are all connected by a smaller ‘coin’ highlighting 100 years of the Reserve Bank.

The obverse of the coin features the traditional coat of arms as well, the name of the country in two official languages  – ‘uMzantsi Afrika’ and ‘Suid-Afrika’, as well as the 2021 printing date.

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