The Menné Half Pond Mystery

The Coin Itself

The Menné Half Pond is the only known example of an 1892-dated ZAR half pond featuring the corrected single‑shaft ox wagon design (KM#9.2). All other known single‑shaft half ponds bear dates from 1893 to 1897. [citation:1][citation:4]

Significantly, the coin shows considerable wear, indicating that it circulated among the public before being collected. This fact is crucial to understanding its origins and refutes suggestions that it might be a modern fake. [citation:1]

Provenance Timeline

1905–1935: Early History

By 1905, the coin was part of a collection, although a memo dated 9 January 1905 listing the collection's contents did not include the 1892 half pond, suggesting it was added after that date. The considerable wear suggests it circulated during the period leading up to the post-World War I gold premium, when many gold coins were melted down by speculators. [citation:1]

In 1935, W.J. Menné inherited a collection of coins from his father. The collection included the 1892 half pond. Menné kept the coin for safekeeping for a further 21 years, seemingly not realising its uniqueness at the time. [citation:1]

1977: The Auction and Disappearance

• 20 April 1977: The coin was offered at a Sotheby Parke Bernet auction in Johannesburg, South Africa, as part of a sale titled "Catalogue of South African and other coins including the Menné 1892 single shaft, half pond". [citation:1][citation:2]
• Immediate sale: The coin was purchased by John Keogh of Keogh Coins (Durban). Also present at the auction was Douglas Liddell of Spink & Son (London). Immediately after the auction, Liddell offered Keogh a R2,000 profit on the sale price, which Keogh accepted. The coin therefore changed hands on the same day. [citation:1]
• Photographs and departure: Keogh and Liddell arranged for photographs to be taken of the coin, after which Liddell returned to London, taking the coin with him. [citation:1]
• The loss: Approximately a week later, Douglas Liddell telephoned John Keogh and told him, "John, I lost the coin". Keogh presumed the coin had been lost during Liddell's flight from Johannesburg to London, although no specific details were provided. [citation:1]

August 1977: The Promotional Listing

Four months after the coin was reportedly lost, Keogh Coins published a fixed price list featuring the Menné Half Pond on the front page, priced at R36,000. In a 2021 interview, John Keogh explained this by saying it was "just for promotion purposes" – the coin was indeed lost at that stage, but photographs had been taken and the decision was made to list it anyway. [citation:1]

Later Rumours

Following the loss, rumours circulated that the coin had been lost in the post, stolen and tossed overboard by a thief on a sea voyage between Australia and England after being exhibited at a coin show in Australia. The 2021 investigation found no evidence to support these claims. [citation:1]

The Question of Authenticity

Expert Opinions

• Dr. Hugo Hammerich (Deputy Mint Director, Berlin Mint, 1905): In his publication Die Deutschen Reichsmünzen, Hammerich confirmed that the 1892 half pond die was included in a list of master dies "for all subsequent minting in Pretoria" and was preserved at the Berlin Mint. [citation:1]
• Elias Levine (ZAR coin expert): Levine stated that on the "balance of probabilities the coin would seem to be real", based on the documentary evidence, though he would need to examine the coin personally to be certain. [citation:1]
• J.P. Roux (former South African Mint Master): Roux examined the actual coin and believed it to be genuine. [citation:1]

The Die Evidence

It has been credibly suggested that the Menné half pond could have been a once‑off rectified specimen coin, manufactured in Germany and sent to Pretoria for approval by the Berlin Mint after the double shaft debacle. The original dies for the coin have never been found in either South Africa or Germany – possibly lost when the Berlin Mint sustained damage during World War II. [citation:1]

Spurious Claims

Some dealers have incorrectly dismissed the Menné half pond as counterfeit, stating "as there is no official record of an 1892 single shaft half Pond we assume one does not exist". [citation:4] This contradicts the documented evidence and expert opinions cited above.

The 2021 Investigation

In 2021, Pierre H. Nortje, secretary of the Western Cape Numismatic Society and author of The Rarest of the Rare, conducted a detailed investigation into the fate of the Menné Half Pond. [citation:1]

Inquiries to Spink

On 31 August 2021, Nortje contacted Nik von Uexkull, an employee of Spink in London, asking whether the company had lodged a large insurance claim for an expensive South African gold coin lost in transit in 1977 or 1978. Despite follow‑ups, Spink did not provide any information. [citation:1]

Interview with John Keogh

On 9 September 2021, Nortje received a phone call from John Keogh himself, who had recently been discharged from hospital and was willing to help. Keogh, now living in Bloemfontein and still involved in numismatics after years in Texas and the Netherlands, confirmed the story in detail. [citation:1]

Current Status

As of 2023, the Menné Half Pond has not been located. Nortje concludes: "It appears the coin was never lost in the post or tossed overboard somewhere on the open seas. It just got lost. Is it possible that the 1892 Single Shaft Menne half pond has once again been placed in a vault for safekeeping, waiting patiently to reveal its true pedigree? Only time will tell." [citation:1]

Sources

• Western Cape Numismatic Society. "The Mystery of the 1892 ZAR single shaft ½ pond – Part 3" (Pierre H. Nortje, 14 August 2023). [citation:1]
• Bibliothèque nationale de France. "Catalogue of South African and other coins including the Menné 1892 single shaft, half pond" (Sotheby's, 1977). [citation:2]
• Nortje, P.H. The Rarest of the Rare – Unique and very Rare Gold Coins of the Zuid‑Afrikaansche Republiek (forthcoming at time of article). [citation:1]
• Personal correspondence: P.H. Nortje – John Keogh (September 2021). [citation:1]

Revision History