South Africa's first domestic coinage — struck at the Pretoria Mint, which had only opened in 1923 — replaced the British shillings that had circulated throughout the Union since 1910. The decision to establish a local mint was partly administrative convenience and partly political signaling: a dominion coinage rather than an imported one. Pretoria's early production runs were small, and the 1923 shilling in particular carries a low mintage that has made it consistently harder to locate than its 1924 counterpart.
South Africa's first domestic coinage — struck at the Pretoria Mint, which had only opened in 1923 — replaced the British shillings that had circulated throughout the Union since 1910. The decision to establish a local mint was partly administrative convenience and partly political signaling: a dominion coinage rather than an imported one. Pretoria's early production runs were small, and the 1923 shilling in particular carries a low mintage that has made it consistently harder to locate than its 1924 counterpart.