Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1/2 Cent Balthazar J. Vorster
| Issuer | South African Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 1982 |
| Type | Non-circulating coin |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Two sparrows perched on a bare branch occupy the central field, rendered in naturalistic relief against a plain background. The fractional denomination numeral 1/2 is prominently displayed in the upper right portion of the field above the birds. The engraver's initials TS appear discreetly in the lower field, attributing the design to Tommy Sasseen. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The half cent was discontinued after 1983, making the final years of this denomination something of a quiet death — inflation had rendered it functionally worthless long before the mint stopped striking it. Vorster himself had resigned the presidency in 1978 following the Information Scandal, in which secret government funds were misappropriated to run pro-apartheid propaganda operations abroad, including an attempt to purchase American newspapers.
His appearance on coinage into the early 1980s reflects the lag between political disgrace and institutional inertia.