Catalog
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| Issuer | South African Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 2002 |
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| Currency | Rand (1961-date) |
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| Obverse description | A highly detailed close-up portrait of a cheetah's head facing left dominates the field, rendered in fine relief against a deeply mirrored proof background. Below the feline portrait, two small cheetahs are depicted in profile walking to the right, integrated into the stylised date numeral '2002'. The legend 'SOUTH AFRICA' curves along the lower left, with the mint initials 'ALS' appearing in the lower centre of the field. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | ALS SOUTH AFRICA 2002 |
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| Additional information |
The Natura series launched in 1994 as South Africa's answer to a growing collector market that wanted something beyond the Krugerrand's purely bullion-focused appeal. Unlike the Krugerrand, Naturas carry a legal tender face value and are struck in four-nines gold rather than the Krugerrand's 22-karat alloy — a deliberate distinction aimed at international collector premiums. Annual themes rotate through African wildlife, with the cheetah year sitting within a broader predator cycle that included lion and leopard issues across adjacent years.
Mintages for the Natura fractionals were kept intentionally low, and the 2002 tenth-ounce saw limited distribution outside specialist South African dealers and a handful of European wholesale channels.