Jardines Galleries · Three parallel series · Color on sterling silver
Flora & Fauna Color Coin Series.
Sterling-silver crowns finished with vibrant applied colour — the South African Mint's chromatic commemorative programme. The page covers three parallel sub-series: Birds of South Africa (twelve coins, 2018 – 2022), Flowers of South Africa (eight coins, 2021 – 2023), and the dedicated Waterberg Biosphere Reserve set (four coins, 2018). All are 1 oz Ag .925 proofs at R5 or R10 face value; mintages run from 400 to 2,500. The colour-coin technology was first introduced at the SA Mint with the 2016 Kogelberg range; the Flora & Fauna programme picked it up and ran it for six years.
Color on silver
Sterling Ag .925 · Proof finish · Vibrant applied colourThe Flora & Fauna programme is the SA Mint's most chromatically distinctive output. Most South African commemoratives are gold or silver in their natural metal colour; these are silver crowns finished with applied colour — birds rendered in their actual plumage, flowers in their actual blooms. The technique allows a level of botanical and ornithological accuracy that monochrome reliefs cannot match.
All coins struck in sterling silver Ag .925, all 1 oz at the standard 38.725 mm crown size, all proof finish.
Three parallel series
Birds 2018-22 · Flowers 2021-23 · Waterberg 2018Three sub-series ran in parallel through the period. The Birds of South Africa series ran the longest (five years, twelve coins, all R5). The Flowers of South Africa series ran shorter (three years, eight coins, all R5). The Waterberg Biosphere Reserve set was a single-year four-coin release in 2018, mixing R10 birds with R5 flowers under a dedicated biosphere obverse.
Twenty-four coins in total across the programme.
Birds of South Africa
2018 – 2022 · 12 species · R5 silverTwelve South African bird species across five years, two per year for the first four years and four in 2022 as the closing flourish. Each coin R5 sterling silver, 1 oz, proof finish with applied colour. Reverses depict the bird in its natural habitat with the scientific name in the design. Each coin housed in a blister card with numbered certificate of authenticity.
Flowers of South Africa
2021 – 2023 · 8 species · R5 silver · Proteas & fynbosFollowing the success of the Birds series, the SA Mint launched a parallel programme celebrating the country's fynbos and protea heritage — South Africa's distinctive Cape Floral Kingdom rendered in applied colour on sterling silver. Eight coins across three years, all R5 face value on the same 1 oz silver planchets as the Birds series.
From the Kogelberg gold to the Flowers silver
The Marsh Rose (Orothamnus zeyheri) appears on the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere 2015 Kogelberg 1/4 oz gold — alongside the Cape Mountain Leopard and an Oudebosch cabin — and again on this Flora & Fauna 2022 Flowers R5 silver. The same critically rare Cape Floral Kingdom species, two different metals, seven years apart. A small piece of botanical-numismatic continuity threading the SA Mint's flora-themed commemoratives.
Waterberg Biosphere Reserve
2018 · 4 coins · Dedicated obverse · Prestige SetIn 2018, the SA Mint released a dedicated colour-coin set celebrating the Waterberg Biosphere Reserve in Limpopo Province — distinct from the Birds and Flowers series, with its own biosphere-locator obverse showing a map of South Africa indicating the Waterberg's position. The set runs 2× R10 birds and 2× R5 flowers: an asymmetric four-coin structure that elevates the bird denominations relative to the regular Birds series (R5).
Yellow-throated Sandgrouse
Pterocles gutturalisColor image of the bird with scientific name in the design. Blister card with certificate of authenticity. Mintage 1,000.
— 1,000 mintage —White-backed Night Heron
Companion bird speciesThe complementary R10 bird issue from the Waterberg set. Pairs with the Yellow-throated Sandgrouse to form the set's avian half.
Orange Tritonia
Endemic Limpopo floraOne of two R5 flower coins in the Waterberg set. Colourful flora rendered in applied colour on sterling silver.
Grass Crinum
Companion flora speciesThe complementary R5 flower issue. Pairs with Orange Tritonia to form the set's botanical half, completing the 2 + 2 structure.
The Waterberg Prestige Set
All four coins · Wooden box · 30 Rand total face value · 400 worldwideA limited-edition Prestige Set was released alongside the four individual issues, presenting all four coins together in a single boxed offering:
- Contents: 4 × 1 oz Silver Proof colour coins (the full Waterberg quartet)
- Packaging: Original wooden presentation box with numbered certificate of authenticity
- Total face value: 30 Rand (2 × R10 + 2 × R5)
- Mintage: 400 sets only worldwide — the lowest mintage tier in the entire Flora & Fauna programme
The Waterberg, twice over
2018 was a doubly Waterberg year at the SA Mint. The same biosphere received two distinct commemorative programmes simultaneously: the gold-and-silver UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Waterberg set (2× R2 1/4 oz gold + 2× R2 1 oz silver, with Bushmen Rock Art and Black Rhino designs) and this colour-coin Waterberg set in the Flora & Fauna programme (2× R10 birds + 2× R5 flowers). The MAB programme made the biosphere visible in precious-metal commemorative form; the colour series made it visible in chromatic-silver collector form. Together they document the Waterberg in unusual depth across two parallel SA Mint product lines.
Technical specifications
Sterling silver · Proof finish with colour · 1 oz crown · Two face values| Denomination | Metal | Weight | Diameter | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R10 | Sterling Ag .925 | ~33.6 g (1 oz) | 38.725 mm | Waterberg birds (2018) |
| R5 | Sterling Ag .925 | ~33.6 g (1 oz) | 38.725 mm | Birds, Flowers, Waterberg flowers |
Collector value guide
Mintage-driven scarcity · Prestige premiumsValues approximate — based on recent dealer listings. Complete sets and prestige issues command meaningful premiums; individual standard-mintage coins trade closer to a stable per-coin baseline.
| Item | Mintage | Estimated value |
|---|---|---|
| Complete Birds set · 12 coins | 2,500 per coin | $600 – $1,200 |
| Complete Flowers set · 8 coins | 2,500 per coin | $400 – $800 |
| Individual Birds / Flowers coin | 2,500 | $50 – $80 |
| Waterberg Yellow-throated Sandgrouse · R10 | 1,000 | ~$115 (€95) |
| Waterberg Prestige Set · 4 coins · wooden box | 400 | ~$515 (€425) |
- South African Mint — product archives.
- EMK.com — "Waterberg Biosphere Reserve Prestige-Set," 2018.
- EMK.com — "1 oz Silver Coin: Yellow-Throated Sandgrouse," 2018.
- Numismatic dealer listings and auction records.
- Cross-references: UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (2015 Kogelberg colour-coin predecessor; 2018 Waterberg gold-and-silver counterpart; Marsh Rose appears on both 2015 Kogelberg gold and 2022 Flowers silver), Protea Life of a Legend (Mandela), Crown & Tickey Inventions, Natura Series.