Jardines Galleries · Research tool · 8 repositories · Step-by-step workflow
How to use archives and libraries.
A practical guide for conducting South African numismatic research — from preparation through repository visits to citation. Eight major institutions are covered: five in South Africa (the National Archives, the SARB Archives, the SA Mint Museum, Ditsong, and Wits Cullen Library) and three internationally (the Berlin Münzkabinett, the Smithsonian, and the British Museum). The guide closes with a worked example: tracing a Burgerspond from auction record to museum holding to provenance chain.
Getting started
- Define your research question. Which coin, which period, which document type, which institution? Specificity here saves hours later.
- Preliminary research. Check published sources first — Hern's Standard Catalogue, Levine, auction catalogues, online databases. Often the question is already answered.
- What to bring. Laptop, pencils only (no pens), camera, gloves, list of call numbers, photo ID, letter of introduction (if academic). Most archives require pre-registration.
Major repositories
Five in South Africa · Three international · Access notes for eachEight institutions hold the bulk of South African numismatic source material. The five SA repositories are clustered in the Pretoria-Centurion-Johannesburg corridor; the three international ones cover die-and-pattern records (Berlin Münzkabinett), specimen holdings (Smithsonian), and parallel colonial-era collections (British Museum). Always contact archivists in advance — most can confirm holdings before you visit and pre-retrieve materials.
National Archives of South Africa
Government records, ZAR archives, colonial administration. Holds the bulk of correspondence relating to the Pretoria Mint and 1892 – 1900 ZAR coinage decisions.
Access: Free registration · photo ID required.
South African Reserve Bank Archives
Bank records and currency production records. Particularly relevant for the 1961 decimal transition, the 1989 Reserve Bank Act, and modern currency policy decisions.
Access: By appointment only · research proposal required.
South African Mint Museum · Coin World
Coins, medals, dies, and the historic Oom Paul Press retired in 2024 after 132 years of service. The institutional context for SA Mint Today.
Access: Free admission · guided tours available.
Ditsong National Museum of Cultural History
Coins, tokens, and medals from the ZAR era and earlier — including patterns, trial strikes, and unfinished issues that don't appear in standard catalogues.
Access: Public museum · research access by arrangement.
University of the Witwatersrand
Cullen Library — Africana, rare books, siege collections, the Levine reference, and gold-standard archival material relevant to the 1931 – 1933 currency crisis.
Access: Public access · Aeon online request system available.
Berlin Münzkabinett
The essential international repository for ZAR research. Holds dies, wax models, and trial strikes from Otto Schultz's 1892 ZAR work — see the Berlin Mint Connection page for full context.
Access: Research access available · online catalogue at ikmk.smb.museum.
Smithsonian Institution
Holds Ebden specimens, Burgerspond examples (three known to be in the collection), and reference material for early SA gold issues. Used as the canonical specimen-of-record for several ZAR rarities.
Access: Research appointment system · online catalogue at collections.si.edu.
British Museum
Parallel colonial-era collection covering ZAR and Union coinage. Useful for cross-referencing British Royal Mint records that fed into Union coinage 1923 – 1960.
Access: Research access · online catalogue at britishmuseum.org/collection.
Search strategies
Keywords · Finding aids · Cross-referencing · Archivist contact- Keyword searching. Use the institutional vocabulary of the era — "Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek," "Kruger pond," "Mafeking siege," "Pretoria Mint." Modern catalogues often use period spelling.
- Use finding aids. Collection summaries, box lists, series descriptions — these reveal the structure of holdings before you commit to retrieval requests.
- Cross-reference. Names (Kruger, Schultz, MacKennal), institutions (ZAR Government, Royal Mint, Berlin Mint), and events (Anglo-Boer War, decimal transition).
- Contact archivists. Email in advance. Most archivists will confirm holdings, pre-retrieve materials, and flag related collections you hadn't considered. This single step saves more time than any other.
Requesting materials
In-person workflow · Online pre-orders · What you can request- In-person requests. Register at the reading-room desk, search the catalogue, submit request slips (usually limited per day), wait 10 – 60 minutes for retrieval. Plan accordingly.
- Online requests. Some archives allow pre-ordering — the National Archives and Wits Aeon system both support this. Pre-orders reduce waiting time on the day.
- What you can request. Government records, mint records, personal papers, and (in museums) coins, medals, and physical objects. Object access typically requires a more formal research proposal than paper records.
Handling guidelines
Do's and don'ts · Coin-specific rules · Common-sense protocolsStandard protocols
- Wash hands before handling material.
- Use pencil only for note-taking.
- Support bound volumes properly — book cradles or weights as needed.
- Ask the reading-room staff if you're unsure.
- Use archival weights to hold pages flat without forcing the spine.
Prohibited actions
- Eat or drink in the reading room.
- Use pen — under any circumstances.
- Force books flat or open beyond their natural angle.
- Touch photographs directly — handle by edges or with gloves.
- Re-shelve materials yourself — return them to staff.
Photography & copies
Personal use · Publication permissions · Fee structures- Flash photography. Usually prohibited — flash can damage documents, dyes, and coin surfaces over time.
- Personal use. Generally allowed without flash. Publication, however, requires written permission from the holding institution.
- Typical fees. Self-service photography is usually free; photocopies R2 – 5 per page; scans R50 – 200 per image depending on resolution and use.
- Digitisation requests. If you can't visit, most institutions accept digitisation requests for a fee — useful for one-off documents but expensive at scale.
Citing sources
Archival format · Museum object format · ExamplesCiting archival materials
Citing museum objects
Online resources
Catalogue databases · Auction records · Community references- National Archives Database —
nationalarchives.gov.za(catalogue only · materials require in-person visit). - Berlin Münzkabinett Online —
ikmk.smb.museum. Searchable digital catalogue including ZAR die material. - British Museum Collection Online —
britishmuseum.org/collection. - Smithsonian Collections —
collections.si.edu.
- Google Books / Internet Archive — public-domain numismatic texts, including pre-1925 catalogues.
- NGC Coin / PCGS CoinFacts — population reports, auction records, certified examples.
- CoinArchives — auction results database across major houses worldwide.
- Colnect / Numista — community catalogues with crowdsourced variety attribution.
Sample project · Tracing a Burgerspond
Eight steps · From auction record to provenance chain · A worked exampleThe Burgerspond is an 1874 SA gold coin with a recorded mintage of 142 pieces. Suppose you've encountered one in the wild and want to establish its provenance. Here's the actual workflow — eight steps from first lookup to documented chain.
Consult Hern
Open Hern's Standard Catalogue of South African Coins for basic information — denomination, year, mintage (142), known varieties, recorded examples.
Search auction archives
Use CoinArchives to search recent and historic Burgerspond sales. Establishes price baseline, recent provenances, and which auction houses have handled examples.
Note specific records
Capture key auction results: Schulman 2025 at €50,000, Heritage 2013 at $128,500. These are anchor data points for any subsequent claim.
Check Levine
The 1974 Levine reference is the specialist work for early SA gold. Cross-check whether the specific coin you're tracing appears in Levine's records.
Contact the Smithsonian
The Smithsonian National Numismatic Collection holds three Burgerspond examples. Email the curator with specific questions; identify whether your coin matches any holding.
Search Wits archives
Wits Cullen Library may hold private correspondence referring to the Burgerspond — collector letters, dealer records, period coverage that's unlikely to surface elsewhere.
Email Berlin Münzkabinett
The Burgerspond predates the 1892 Berlin work, but the Münzkabinett may hold related material — pattern records, contemporary South African gold reference. A long shot worth taking.
Compile the provenance chain
The result: a documented chain from 1874 issue through known holdings, recorded auction sales, and any institutional records that mention the specific specimen. This is the goal of the entire workflow.
Library cross-references
Companion pages · Bibliography · Numismatic societies · Cluster contextBibliography & further reading
The printed reference layer — Hern's Standard Catalogue, Levine, Becklake, Engelbrecht, plus the period auction catalogues that thread through the search workflow on this page.
— The professional bodies —Numismatic societies
The professional and amateur networks — SANS, regional societies, international affiliations. Often the fastest route to specialist knowledge that isn't yet in published references.
— The international highlight —Berlin Mint Connection
Full context for the Münzkabinett's significance to ZAR research. Otto Schultz's 1892 dies, wax models, trial strikes, and the OS-controversy archive that lives only in Berlin.
— The biographies —People Behind the Coins
The engravers, designers, and policy figures whose names appear in archival correspondence. Provides context for who you're searching for when chasing names through finding aids.