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1 Shilling - George VI Shilling
| Issuer | South Africa Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 1948-1950 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Milled |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A draped, standing female allegorical figure — representing Hope — faces left, her right arm resting on the stock of a large upright anchor whose fluke extends into the lower field, with stylised waves at her feet. She wears classical robes with flowing drapery and holds a ship's cable or line in her left hand. To the upper right, a decorative sunburst or starburst device appears in the field, while the engraver's initials KG are visible at lower right. The bilingual legend SOUTH AFRICA and SUID AFRIKA flanks the date at the top, with SHILLING inscribed along the lower arc, all within a beaded border. |
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| Reverse lettering | SOUTH·AFRICA·1950·SUID·AFRIKA KG SHILLING |
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| Additional information |
South Africa's postwar shillings occupy an awkward transitional moment: the country was still operating under the Crown while Afrikaner nationalist politics were rapidly reshaping the state. The National Party's 1948 electoral victory — the same year this series begins — set in motion the formal apparatus of apartheid and within a decade would produce a republic that severed ties with the Commonwealth entirely. These shillings were among the last struck before that rupture began in earnest.
The .800 fine standard had been South Africa's silver benchmark since 1923, a deliberate step down from sterling .925 that reflected postwar metal economics rather than any loss of confidence in the currency.