What this page covers
Topic: South African Decimal Series (1961- Present)
Purpose: Identification, specifications, mintages, and collector guidance.
How to use: Quick facts first, then the detailed tables below.
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Jardines Galleries · The rand era · 1961 – present · 65 years · Three series

Decimal Coinage.

On 14 February 1961, South Africa retired the pound sterling system and adopted the rand at £1 = R2 — the moment documented in detail on the 1961 Decimal Transition page. What followed is 65 years and three series of decimal coinage: the founding First Series (1961 – 1964) with Jan van Riebeeck on the obverse and the lingering tickey; the workhorse Second Series (1965 – 1989) spanning 24 years and the bilingual era; and the modern Third Series (1989 – present) with smaller, lighter coins, modern alloys, and the bi-metal R5. This page is the workflow reference — atlas-centric, three-series organised, built for fast denomination confirmation.

Visual atlas → First Series Second Series Third Series Sources
— 14 February 1961 · The conversion math —
240d → 200c · £1 → R2 · 3d ≈ 2½c
Pence to cents at five-sixths the unit count: 240d became 200c, £1 became R2. The threepence (the tickey) converted to 2½c exactly — and that's the coin you see in the First Series atlas.
— The three series — Three series · sixty-five years
— Series 01 — I The founding 1961 – 1964

The founding rand-era series. Jan van Riebeeck on the obverse, denominations from ½c to 50c, and the only Decimal series to include the lingering tickey — the 2½c carried over from pre-decimal threepence.

— Series 02 — II The workhorse 1965 – 1989

The longest series at 24 years. The 2c replaces the 2½c in 1965, ending the tickey lineage. The 1965 – 1969 bilingual era sits inside this series — annual alternations between English and Afrikaans legends.

— Series 03 — III The modern 1989 – present

The practical set most South Africans encounter today. Smaller, lighter coins, modern alloys, and the bi-metal R5 as the workhorse of the modern era. The longest-running series of the three, and still active.

A note on the tickey — The 2½c of the First Series (1961 – 1964) is mathematically the tickey. Pre-decimal threepence (3d) at £1 = 240d converted to 3d × (200c ÷ 240d) = 2.5c exactly — and the 2½c retained the "tickey" name throughout the First Series. When the 2c replaced it in 1965, the lineage ended; the tickey died with the Second Series transition. The word survives in South African English as a metaphor for "a small thing" or "a small amount" — cultural carryover from a coin that no longer circulates.

First Series · 1961 – 1964

The founding · Van Riebeeck obverse · Includes ½c and tickey
— Series 01 · Four years · The founding rand-era —

The founding series

The obverse carries Jan van Riebeeck — the Dutch commander who established the Cape settlement in 1652. The First Series ran for only four years before being replaced, but it carries two unique structural features: the inclusion of the ½c (the smallest decimal denomination ever issued) and the 2½c (the only direct carryover from pre-decimal threepence — the tickey).

— ½c · 1c · 2½c · 5c · 10c · 20c · 50c —

Second Series · 1965 – 1989

The workhorse · 2c replaces 2½c · 24-year run · Bilingual era 1965 – 1969
— Series 02 · Twenty-four years · The longest run —

The workhorse series

The structural inflection: the 2c replaces the 2½c from 1965, ending the tickey's mathematical lineage to the threepence. The Second Series became the workhorse decimal coinage through the apartheid era and into the late 1980s. Bilingual variations — SUID-AFRIKA / SOUTH AFRICA alternating year-by-year on certain denominations — exist in the 1965 – 1969 window, before settling into a more standardised approach.

Third Series · 1989 – present

The modern · Smaller, lighter, modern alloys · Bi-metal R5 · Still active
— Series 03 · Thirty-six+ years · Still active —

The modern series

The practical set most South Africans encounter today. Smaller, lighter coins; modernised alloys; and the bi-metal R5 — the workhorse high-value coin of the modern era. The Third Series has now run longer than the founding First and Second Series combined. It remains active, with ongoing minor design refreshes managed by the SA Mint at Pretoria.

Visual atlas

Obverse + reverse pairs · Click any image for full size · Decimal coins only

Representative obverse/reverse pairs across all three series. The 1965 – 1969 cards capture the bilingual era; the standard cards represent denominations broadly across the post-1969 issues. For year-by-year mintages and bilingual variation detail, route into the Bilingual Varieties leaf page.

½ Cent — First Series · 1961 – 1964 · Bronze —
Half Cent obverse — Obverse —
Half Cent reverse — Reverse —
1 Cent — Second Series · 1965 – 1969 · Bilingual era —
1 Cent obverse 1965–1969 — Obverse —
1 Cent reverse 1965–1969 — Reverse —
2 Cent — Second Series · 1965 – 1969 · Replaces 2½c —
2 Cent obverse 1965–1969 — Obverse —
2 Cent reverse 1965–1969 — Reverse —
5 Cent — Second Series · 1965 – 1969 · Bilingual era —
5 Cent obverse 1965–1969 — Obverse —
5 Cent reverse 1965–1969 — Reverse —
10 Cent — All series · Core denomination —
10 Cent obverse — Obverse —
10 Cent reverse — Reverse —
20 Cent — All series · Core denomination —
20 Cent obverse — Obverse —
20 Cent reverse — Reverse —
50 Cent — All series · Core denomination —
50 Cent obverse — Obverse —
50 Cent reverse — Reverse —
R1 — All series · Workhorse rand —
R1 obverse — Obverse —
R1 reverse — Reverse —
R2 — All series · 2-rand denomination —
R2 obverse — Obverse —
R2 reverse — Reverse —
R5 — Third Series · Bi-metal · Modern era —
R5 obverse — Obverse —
R5 reverse — Reverse —

Library cross-references

The transition · Bilingual era · Predecessor era · Operational source
— The transition moment —

1961 Decimal Transition

The 14 February 1961 conversion itself — the rand replacing the pound, Decimal Day operations, the conversion math, and the political-economic context. The dedicated leaf page for the moment that opens this era.

— Read the transition story → — Second Series sub-page —

Bilingual Varieties · 1965 – 1969

The five-year window when SA decimal coinage alternated annually between English and Afrikaans legends — SOUTH AFRICA one year, SUID-AFRIKA the next. Year-by-year identification reference.

— Open the sub-page → — Predecessor era —

Union Hub · 1923 – 1960

The era before the rand. Union pound-shilling-pence coinage from 1923 to 1960, three monarchs, nine denominations. The visual atlas there pairs naturally with the one on this page — same reference register, different currency system.

— Open the predecessor → — Era context —

The SA Pound Symbol

The £ symbol that died on 14 February 1961. Its evolution across the Union era and the typographic transition from £ to R is the contextual companion to this page's coinage transition.

— Open the context →

Sources

Standard catalogues · Mint publications · Reserve Bank summaries
— Reference works for this page —
  • Hern, Brian. Standard Catalogue of South African Coins. The canonical reference for SA decimal mintages, varieties, and KM numbers.
  • South African Mint publications. Annual reports and design correspondence from the SA Mint at Pretoria.
  • SARB historical summaries. South African Reserve Bank historical material on the 1961 conversion and post-decimalisation monetary policy.
Era span
65 years
1961 – present
Series
3
Founding · Workhorse · Modern
Origin
1961
14 February · £1 = R2
Mint
SA
Pretoria · all years
The South African Numismatic Library A division of Jardines Galleries · © 2026
Keep exploring
← Back to parent hub•Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek 1893‑1897 ZAR Gold Denominations•Bilingual Varieties (1965-1969)•Collector Education Hub