What the new R50 Mandela coins look like

The South African Mint has officially launched two new coins which pay tribute to president Nelson Mandela.

In a statement published on Monday (23 April), the SA Mint said that the coins are now available  and can be purchased from the South African Mint’s retail store in Centurion, Elegance Jewellers in Melrose Arch and various pop up stores in malls around South Africa.

The R50 bronze alloy depicts him as a young lawyer and the R50 sterling-silver coin, as he looked later in life as the country’s first democratic president.

“The bronze alloy coin is priced at R127 and tells its own tale,” said Tumi Tsehlo, MD of the South African Mint. “Pricing the coin was a conscious tribute to Nelson Mandela’s legacy and our way of paying it forward.”

“To celebrate 100 years since the birth of Mandela, and in remembrance of the 27 long and lonely years he spent in prison, the entry level bronze alloy coin is priced at R127. With every coin purchased, R27 (VAT-free) will be donated to the Nelson Mandela Foundation,” Tshelo said.

The two collectable coins are each packaged in ‘coin blister’ envelopes which bear images of Mandela over the years.

They form part of the wider ‘Celebrating South Africa’ series and the inaugural coin in the range featured Mandela’s comrade-in-struggle OR Tambo and was launched during his birth centenary last year.

Tshelo added that the Mint will soon be announcing new products in the Mandela Centenary range that will ‘far exceed the expectations of both numismatics and aficionados’.

The range includes a special-edition R500 gold coin, which the Mint has not yet launched.

R50 bronze alloy coin

R50 sterling-silver coin

Read: Here’s how much South Africa’s top artists can charge for a painting