From the Curatorial Desk · Pre-Union ZAR Coinage
The 1892 Double Shaft Half Pond.
Three engraving errors. Twenty proof examples. A presidential ox.
The smaller denomination version of the double shaft disaster, sharing the same errors and an even lower mintage. Struck in Berlin by Otto Schultz, the half pond is significantly rarer than its full pond counterpart, especially in high grades.
Edited by Ben Ungerer & Johan Ungerer · The Jardines Curatorial Desk
History
Otto Schultz · Berlin MintAlthough a lease had been granted in 1891 to the Nationale Bank of the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek to establish a state mint in Pretoria, President Kruger was anxious to get new coins into circulation and placed an order with the Royal Prussian Mint at Berlin. The task of engraving the dies was assigned to Otto Schultz (1848 – 1911), the Berliner who had enjoyed a varied career working with the Loos medallic business in the city and with L.C. Wyon at the Royal Mint, London, before joining the Berlin mint as Second Medallist under Emil Weigand (1837 – 1906)1.
Initially Schultz engraved the ox-wagon on the three largest denominations with two shafts, instead of the single shaft of the disselboom (wagon with a single pole) represented in the arms of the Republic. This, and the fact that Schultz placed his initials below the bust of Kruger, which were interpreted in Afrikaans as "os" (ox), meant that the first shipment of coins from Berlin were ill-received in the Republic. On Kruger's orders the dies were altered and it was not until 1893 that the new Pretoria mint started striking 1892-dated coins from Berlin-prepared dies1.
Of the first shipment of coins from Berlin, the half pond had a mintage of approximately 10,000 circulation strikes plus an additional 20 proof examples — making it one of the key rarities of the ZAR series.
The three errors
What Kruger Objected ToThe O.S. initials
Otto Schultz placed his initials below the bust of Kruger. Read in Afrikaans, "O.S." spelled "os" — meaning ox. The president of the Republic had been accidentally captioned ox1.
The double shaft
Schultz engraved the ox-wagon with two shafts instead of the single shaft of the disselboom (single pole) shown in the arms of the Republic. A two-shaft wagon needs two oxen abreast — not the four-in-line that disselboom implied1.
The equal wheels
The front and rear wheels were rendered the same size. On an actual ox-wagon the front wheels are smaller than the rear — the unequal wheels were a defining feature of the Transvaal trek wagon1.
The first shipment of coins from Berlin was ill-received in the Republic. On Kruger's orders, the dies were altered — producing the single shaft variety that followed. The double shaft strikes that had already been issued became, by accident, the rarest of the ZAR series.
The archival timeline
New Research · WCNS Part 3 · Nortje 2025Pierre H. Nortje's The ZAR Coinage of 1892, Part 3 — published by the Western Cape Numismatic Society in May 2025 — works from documents in the National Archives of South Africa, Pretoria, accessed by WCNS webmaster Derick Rabe. The archival record clarifies two things that earlier accounts left ambiguous: when the dies were re-cut, and what the Pretoria Mint was actually striking before they arrived.
Per the archival record, modifications to the drawbar of the Pretoria coining press in April 1893 required new dies to be cut. The first generation of dies — those bearing the double-shaft wagon — was used until that moment. Every half pond struck in Pretoria before April 1893 came from those original Berlin dies. The corrected single-shaft dies were only produced afterwards, in the post-drawbar generation.
The unique Menne Halfpond
The dating raises an open question. The unique single-shaft Menne Halfpond — long catalogued as an anomaly — sits awkwardly within the "Kruger ordered the wagon corrected on the half pond too" story, because no formal single-shaft half-pond issue followed. Nortje's archival evidence opens an alternative reading: the Menne piece may have been a sample strike from the drawbar-modification trial dies of April 1893 — a single test piece produced when the corrected dies were being proved out, never released into circulation. The hypothesis is not proven, but it now sits on firmer chronological ground than the older "Kruger objected to the wagon" reading. The Menne is the same coin; the story behind it is being rewritten.
Technical specifications
KM#9.1 · Hern Z38 · Fr-3Issue reference
Metal & dimensions
The Kruger bust
Bearded bust of President Paul Kruger facing left; "O.S." artist initials raised on truncation. Legend: ZUID AFRIKAANSCHE REPUBLIEK.
The state arms
Oval shield of arms divided in three: lion passant to upper left, Boer with rifle to upper right, ox wagon at bottom with two shafts and wheels of same size, with an escutcheon of an upright anchor, all upon frame surmounted by large eagle, overlapping three "vierkleur" flags either side. Motto on scroll below: EENDRAGT MAAKT MAGT. Floral emblems below. ½ POND * 1892 * surrounds upper portion; stops are mullets.
The 1892 proof half pond
~20 StruckApproximately 20 proof examples of the 1892 half pond were struck at the Berlin Mint. These proofs are of the highest rarity and command significant premiums. A PR63 Cameo example sold for £70,000 in 20101. The proof strikes feature deeply mirrored fields, a crisp impression of the proofing dies, squared-off rims with wire edges, and the delicate orange-peel texture characteristic of proofs1.
The Hohmann 1892 proof set
The 1892 proof half pond also appears within the famous Hohmann 1892 Proof Set, sold by Noonans on 28 September 2006 for £65,000 for nine coins2. Provenance of this calibre is itself a price multiplier when these coins re-enter the market.
Auction records
Eleven Documented Sales| Date | Auction | Grade | Realised | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Sep 2010 | Noonans | PF63 Cameo NGC | £70,000 | Proof · about 20 struck · hammer ~$91,0001 |
| 28 Sep 2006 | Noonans | PR63CAM PCGS | Part of set | Hohmann 1892 Proof Set · £65,000 for 9 coins2 |
| Jan 2025 | St. James's Auctions 100, Lot 320 | MS63 NGC | $1,500 | Certified and graded by NGC as Mint State 635 |
| 2022 | Randburg Coin (fixed price) | AU58 NGC | R75,000 (~$4,000) | Paired with 1892 Double Shaft Pond in NGC AU586 |
| Jan 2022 | Heritage 3098 | MS62 NGC | Not disclosed | A very conditionally sensitive issue preserved close to choice3 |
| Auction 134 | London Coins | UNC (Lustrous) | £2,200 | Scarce thus4 |
| Auction 148 | London Coins | AU / Unc | £1,250 | Scarce thus4 |
| 2011 | Noonans · Dr George de Bruin Coll. | Practically as struck | £900 | Marked in obverse field, otherwise fine1 |
| Auction 153 | London Coins | VF | £320 | Standard circulation grade4 |
| Auction 171 | London Coins | Fine | £240 | One-year type4 |
| Auction 185 | London Coins | Fine | £280 | Reverse slightly better4 |
Sources
Nine Auction Houses, Catalogues & ArchivesNoonans Mayfair. Lot 1426, 29 September 2010 — PR63 Cameo Half Pond.
Noonans Mayfair. Important British and World Coins, 28 September 2006 — the Hohmann 1892 Proof Set.
Heritage Auctions. South Africa: Republic Gold "Double Shaft" ½ Pond 1892 MS62 NGC (January 2022).
London Coins. Auction archives (various).
St. James's Auctions. Auction 100, 15 January 2025, Lot 320.
Randburg Coin. 1892 ZAR Double Shaft Gold Pond and Half Pond — Fantastic Friday Offer (July 2022).
CoinArchives. Various auction results.
Hern, Brian. The Standard Catalogue of South African Coins, Medals and Tokens.
Nortje, Pierre H. The ZAR Coinage of 1892, Part 3 — New Information Discovered. Western Cape Numismatic Society, May 2025. Archival research in the National Archives of South Africa, Pretoria, by Derick Rabe.
Revision history
Living DocumentKeep exploring
Related Reading1892 Double Shaft Pond
The full-denomination version of the double-shaft disaster — same three errors, same Berlin strike, slightly higher mintage.
The Correction1892 Single Shaft Pond
What followed after Kruger demanded the dies be re-engraved — the corrected single-shaft disselboom.
Mint HistoryThe Berlin Mint connection
Where Otto Schultz worked — and the 130-year connection to South African coinage that the 2006 and 2010 Krugerrand mintmarks now commemorate.