What this page covers
Topic: South African Union Series – (1923 – 1960)
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 British Crown era · 1923 – 1960 · 38 years · Three monarchs

Union Coinage.

The Union of South Africa minted its own coinage from 1923 to 1960 — a 38-year window opened by the SA Mint at Pretoria taking over circulation production from the Royal Mint imports, and closed by the 1961 decimal conversion. Three British monarchs appeared on Union coins in succession — George V, George VI, and Elizabeth II — across nine circulating denominations from the Farthing to the Crown. This hub is built for fast identification: scan the visual atlas to confirm denomination and design, then route into the deeper reference and variety pages.

Visual atlas → Key pages Full Union Coinage
— Common workflow · this hub serves the first two steps — Identify → Confirm denomination → Verify variety → Then grade
— The three reigns — Three monarchs · thirty-eight years
— Reign 01 — GV George V 1923 – 1936

The founding monarch of Union coinage. Replaced previously-circulating ZAR and Royal Mint imports. The 1925 Threepence design change falls in this reign — Mason's protea reverse arrives.

— Reign 02 — GVI George VI 1937 – 1952

The longest Union reign. Spans the Second World War, post-war reconstruction, and the 1948 introduction of the 5 shillings as the Union's first crown-sized silver. KGVI's portrait threads through fifteen years of South African pockets.

— Reign 03 — QEII Elizabeth II 1953 – 1960

The final Union monarch. QEII coinage runs from her 1953 coronation issues through to the 1960 final-year strikes — the bridge to the 1961 decimal Republic. The QEII Crown closes the British-monarch chapter of South African coinage.

Three monarchs across 38 years · all coinage struck at the SA Mint, Pretoria · same denominational structure inherited from the British system: farthing → halfpenny → penny → threepence → sixpence → shilling → 2/– → 2/6 → 5/–.
A footnote on Edward VIII — the fourth British monarch of the Union era reigned only briefly (January – December 1936) before his abdication in the constitutional crisis. No South African coinage with Edward VIII's portrait was ever issued; the Union skipped directly from George V to George VI. Pattern coins exist for the United Kingdom but not for South Africa — a clean gap in the otherwise-continuous portrait succession.

Visual atlas

Obverse + reverse pairs · Click any image for full size

One representative obverse/reverse pair per denomination. Crown (5 shillings) appears as both QEII and KGVI issues since the reverse design changed between reigns. For full year-by-year mintages, varieties, and grading guidance, route into the Full Union Coinage page.

Farthing — ¼d · Bronze · Union —
Union Farthing obverse — Obverse —
Union Farthing reverse — Reverse —
Halfpenny — ½d · Bronze · Union —
Union Halfpenny obverse — Obverse —
Union Halfpenny reverse — Reverse —
Penny — 1d · Bronze · Union —
Union Penny obverse — Obverse —
Union Penny reverse — Reverse —
Threepence — 3d · Silver · Union —
Union Threepence obverse — Obverse —
Union Threepence reverse — Reverse —
Sixpence — 6d · Silver · Union —
Union Sixpence obverse — Obverse —
Union Sixpence reverse — Reverse —
Shilling — 1/– · Silver · Union —
Union Shilling obverse — Obverse —
Union Shilling reverse — Reverse —
Two Shillings — 2/– · Florin · Silver —
Union Two Shillings obverse — Obverse —
Union Two Shillings reverse — Reverse —
2½ Shillings — 2/6 · Half Crown · Silver —
Union 2.5 Shillings obverse — Obverse —
Union 2.5 Shillings reverse — Reverse —
5 Shillings — Crown · Silver · QEII (1953 – 1960) —
QEII 5 Shillings obverse — Obverse —
QEII 5 Shillings reverse — Reverse —
5 Shillings — Crown · Silver · KGVI (1948 – 1952) —
KGVI 5 Shillings obverse — Obverse —
KGVI 5 Shillings reverse — Reverse —

Key pages

Deeper reference · Variety leaves · Collector tools · Era cluster

Once you've identified the denomination, route into the deeper material. Variety leaves handle specific design changes (1925 Threepence, 1923 – 1924 Farthing); collector tools handle counterfeit detection and grading basics; and era pages position the Union era within the wider Library timeline.

— Core reference · The full Union page —

Union Coinage (full)

The complete year-by-year reference for all nine denominations across all three reigns. Mintage tables, KM numbers, design notes, and the full 1923 – 1960 chronological sweep.

— Open the full reference → — Variety leaf · GV reign —

1925 Threepence design change

The protea reverse arrives. Hilda Mason's protea design replaces the original 1923 issue's denomination panel — one of the Union era's signature design moments.

— Read the variety story → — Variety leaf · First-year issues —

1923 – 1924 Farthing

The Union's first farthing. Two-year design with KGV portrait; the first ¼d struck at the SA Mint. A natural type-coin entry into Union bronze.

— Read the variety story → — Collector tool —

Counterfeit detection workflow

Practical guidance on identifying altered, replated, and outright counterfeit Union issues. Weight, edge, magnetic test, surface analysis — the standard examination sequence.

— Open the tool → — Collector tool —

Certification & grading basics

How NGC and PCGS grade Union coins; the practical difference between VF / EF / AU / MS tiers; what a third-party slab gets you and what it doesn't.

— Open the tool → — Predecessor era —

ZAR Hub · 1892 – 1902

The era before the Union. ZAR coinage circulated until Union replacement in 1923 — see the Collector's Paradox on the 1893 – 1897 silver and gold pages for why the workhorse-currency endpoint matters.

— Open the predecessor → — Successor era —

1961 Decimal Transition

The era after the Union. 14 February 1961: pounds, shillings, and pence give way to rand and cents. The QEII Crown is the last British-monarch coin in the SA pocket.

— Open the successor → — Era context —

The SA Pound Symbol

How the £ on Union coinage shifted meaning across the era — from a colonial extension of sterling to a distinctly South African denomination just before decimalisation closed the chapter entirely.

— Open the context →
Era span
38 years
1923 – 1960
Reigns
3
GV · GVI · QEII
Denominations
9
Farthing → Crown
Mint
SA
Pretoria · all years
The South African Numismatic Library A division of Jardines Galleries · © 2026
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