20 Cents SUID-AFRIKA - SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa's decimal coinage series launched in 1961 when the rand replaced the pound at a rate of two rand to the pound, ending a currency system inherited from British colonial administration. The nickel 20-cent piece was part of that original decimal family and continued largely unchanged through the 1970s and into the 1980s, a period when the apartheid government faced mounting international sanctions that complicated the procurement of metal and minting inputs.

The scattered Hern reference numbers reflect annual date and mintmark variations across the span, including proof and specimen issues struck at Pretoria for sets rather than circulation.