Thursday 18 August 2011

Rarest Coin in South Africa designed by Otto Schultz and J. Perrin

The King of world coins 'The Single 9'


The King of South African coins is 'The Single 9'. We believe that this coin is in fact the king of all coins in the entire world! All rarities are driven by their numbers, more than any other single factor. The less there are, the rarer they are. The 'Single 9' is the only coin in the world that was officially minted by a government with a mintage of only one! That makes this coin the rarest coin in the world today.

We believe that the 'Single 9', currently valued at over US $3,000,000 will eventually reach a price of US $50,000,000 or more. The current world record price set by an American Double Eagle is US $8,000,000. The 'Single 9', due to its unique nature, is destined to become the most valuable single coin in the world.

One of President Paul Kruger's greatest legacies the virtually priceless national treasure the 'Single 9'.
This coin is well positioned to break the US $50,000,000 mark in the future.
To own the 'Single 9' is a privilege afforded a select few. Having the money to purchase the coin is not enough to ensure the acquisition of this unique piece. In the past the previous owner was approached by numerous buyers, some of whom were leading industrialists in our country. On one particular occasion a bank even tried to buy the coin for their private collection of ZAR. Almost all of our banks have rare coin collections. On all of the previous occasions that offers were made over the years they were turned down one by one. One of the most famous replies that Mr Jan Kraay the previous owner gave was "And buy what with the money?" He knew that he had something extraordinary.

King Farouk of Egypt one of the
past owners of the 'Single 9'.
King Farouk and Franklin D Roosevelt discuss WWII

King Farouk on the front cover of the
Time magazine September, 10th, 1951
Due to the unique pedigree of the 'Single 9', we believe that this coin has the potential to become one of the fastest growing coins in monetary terms throughout the world. There is also the general feeling in the South African coin industry, that this coin is undervalued at US $3,000,000. Recently, an American Double Eagle of which there are several specimens, sold for US $8,000,000.

A group of Boers. These men were excellent, horsemen, fighters and great shots. The war declared by the Boers on 11 October 1899, gave the British, as Kipling famously said, "No end of a lesson." The public expected it to be over by Christmas, but it proved to be the longest (two and three quarter years), the costliest
(over £200 million), the bloodiest (at least 22 000 British, 25 000 Boer and 12 000
African lives) and the most humiliating war that the British had
fought between 1815 and 1914.
The 'Single 9' is one of the world's rarities and has no price ceiling whatsoever. Its value will rise indefinitely. Coins this rare carry with them their owners' 'power'. The power to set a price! Think of how few items one could ever own where you could set the selling price. When you have the only known example of a coin that was ever minted, then you have no competitors. A more superior position for negotiation you simply cannot find!

When we went to negotiate the sale of this coin with its latest owner, the last owner had set the sale price. We told him what the market valued the coin at and he just smiled. He then said to us "This is what I want for the coin." And that was the end of that.

The New South Wales Lancers from Australia. The Boers found themselves vastly outnumbered by fighting forces drawn from all over the British Empire. The Boers put up a fight that captivated the world.
The 'Single 9' was once owned by King Farouk of Egypt. It is probably one of the most extensively traveled coins in the world, having had homes in the United States, United Kingdom, Egypt and South Africa. The coin currently resides, interestingly enough, in the United States in the hands of a South African!

The Story of the 'Single 9'


The Single 9 was created during the Boer War of 1899-1902. The dies for the coinage of the ZAR (Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek) for 1899 were produced by the Kaisermint and were on their way to the Transvaal from Delagoa Bay. As luck would have it, a British patrol engaged the Boers who were transporting the dies and gained possession of them.

For the British, the seizing of the dies was thought to be an extraordinarily important break-through. This would prevent the Boer republic from minting any coins and had great significance to the imperial strategy of British Empire at the time. As today, the diplomatic strategies played between one country and another, were based on legal premises and perceptions of the international community at large.

The British were at pains to explain to the world that their war against the Boers had little or nothing to do with their discovery of the largest deposit of gold known to mankind. "No, no, the gold is not the issue" they declared. There were a "multitude of reasons", echoed their diplomats.

Kaizer Wilhelm II of Germany. He was the grandson of Queen Victoria, although there was no love lost between the two. He had grand visions of massive colonisation for Germany.
President Paul Kruger was a very charismatic man and had a profound effect on all of those with whom he met and spoke. He was liked and admired by most of the countries in Europe. When the British forced war on his tiny country, many of European countries did what they could to assist him and his people.

One leader in particular with whom President Kruger had an especially strong relationship was the Kaiser (Wilhelm II) of Germany. The Kaiser was actually considering taking up arms to assist the Boer republic against Britain. This is where the dies played their diplomatic strategic role for the British Empire.

Britain declared to the world that the ZAR were not in fact an independent country or sovereign state. According to the British, they were an extension of their empire and colony. This meant that they were a type of British protectorate. By seizing the dies they were also able to claim that the ZAR did not even have a currency at their disposal. They tried to convince others that an independent country would have no problem in producing their own currency.

Impressions were vitally important, as the British wanted to create the perception that they were reigning in a renegade part of their empire. They did not want to be seen to be attacking an independent country. Because the countries attempting to support the Boers also had colonies, this diplomatic nuance was extremely important. They could not assist any part of Britain's empire but they could assist an independent country.

Queen Victoria was greatly concerned that her grandson, the Kaiser, would step in and help the Boers. There was no love lost between these two rulers even although they were related. The Americans were also sympathetic to the plight of the Boers. A fact unknown to many is that one of the Boer commandoes was made up entirely of Americans who decided to join in and help the Boers fight for their freedom. What was at stake however, was the world's largest gold reserve, which could serve as a strong incentive to empires.

Queen Victoria the British Monarch at the time of the Boer War.

President Kruger was certain that the Kaiser would assist the ZAR and he had the personal assurance from the Kaiser that this would be the case. As with politics today, when you think you have an ally, they could just as easily become an adversary. Queen Victoria made a deal with the Kaiser, guaranteeing him vast territories in Africa in return for his non-participation.

President Kruger had the courage of a lion and yielded to no-one. Even when his most powerful ally turned its back, he still moved forward. The war declared by the Boers on 11 October, 1899 gave the British, as Kipling said "No end of a lesson". The public expected it to be over by Christmas, but it proved to be the longest (two and three quarter years), the costliest (over £200 million), the bloodiest (at least 22 000 British, 25 000 Boer and 12 000 African lives) and the most humiliating war that Britain had fought between 1815 and 1914. It also signaled the end of the British Empire, as the rest of Britain's colonies began to revolt after this. Britain also realized that military domination of colonies had to come to an end. The Boers had simply stretched the Imperial British Empire to its limits.

President Kruger had the courage of a lion.
President Kruger's most admired trait was his courage. He feared Britain's power, yet he was still prepared to fight a far mightier foe. He had this to say about the British to Dr Leyds, State Attorney of the ZAR, "Young man, you don't know the English. I do. You should argue with them, dispute with them, negotiate with them - but don't fight with them."

President Kruger and the Mint Assayer had a problem. They needed to produce coinage for the ZAR and they had no dies. There is however, a famous Afrikaans saying that goes 'A Boer maak a plan' (A man makes a plan). President Kruger and the Government Assayer, Mr J Perrin, came up with a simple yet ingenious solution. They would use a punch to place the number 9 on the old 1898 coins. The '9' would be stamped on the obverse (heads) side of the coin. This was unusual as the date stamped on coins is usually on the reverse (tails) side. The '9' would be approximately 2.3mm in length.

The first coin to be minted during the Boer War was the 'Single 9'. This adds to the enormous pedigree that the coin already has. It was noticed that the '9' created by the hand-held punch was too large. It entered the lower part of the bust of Paul Kruger.

Finally the time had come for the 'Single 9' to play an important role for the ZAR and international politics. It was decided that the single specimen of the coin with the large 9 would be handed to the United States Consul General (US Ambassador). The coin was handed to Mr C E Macrum for the purpose of ratifying the existence of the ZAR as a totally independent country, producing its own coinage. This was done with the general pomp and ceremony that accorded such events.

Two letters record this momentous event in the annuls of history. One letter was written by Mr J Perrin of the State Mint, to record the handing of the coin to the Consul General in High Dutch. At the bottom left hand side of the letter is a purple stamp. The stamp states 'Pretoria 9 DEC 1899, Governments Essayer and Controller'. The style of the writing is very neat and meticulous and the signature of Mr Perrin very clear and easily legible.

A photograph of the original letter written by Mr Perrin in 1899 confirming the credentials
of the 'Single 9' at the outset of the Anglo-Boer War.
The second letter written by Mr Macrum records the official receiving of the coin by himself on behalf of the United States government. The letter makes it plain and clear "The first one pound (£1) piece coined during the war with England in 1899".The ZAR had their ratification taken care of through the diplomatic exchange of the coin. This caused quite some consternation to the British who were extremely annoyed with the Americans for receiving the coin through their diplomatic mission. Unfortunately, this was not enough to get the Kaiser or any other leaders to 'officially' come to the aid of the ZAR.

A photograph of the original letter from Mr Macrum, the United States Consul in Pretoria in 1899, confirming the content of Mr Perrin's letter.
It is without any doubt whatsoever, that the 'Single 9' was the most important coin produced during the entire time of the Boer War. It is a Voortrekker icon which is unparalleled. This is also the only coin that we are aware of in the world that was ever used to ratify the existence of an entire nation and to prove that they were producing coinage.

The letter 'M' can also clearly be seen where it was scratched onto the lower part of the bust of the coin. This was obviously done by the United States Consul General, Mr Macrum. It represents the first initial of his surname. From the letter that Mr Macrum wrote it states "Property of C E Macrum, US Consul at Pretoria". He had obviously arranged to buy the coin from the US government.

The 'Single 9' is the Maltese Falcon of the South African rare coin market. It has always been enveloped in mystery and intrigue. As recently as 1975, experts in our own market doubted the authenticity of the coin when it first appeared from hiding in a private collection. Once its credentials were meticulously examined, our leading market players immediately realised that South Africa had a coin that had the potential to become the most rare and valuable coin in the world.

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