South Africa 1952 Silver 5 Shillings | Van Riebeeck Tercentenary | George VI | Very Fine

South Africa 1952 Silver 5 Shillings | Van Riebeeck Tercentenary | George VI | Very Fine

Before it was a keepsake, this coin was money, and it carries the marks of having been used as such.

On 6 April 1652 Jan van Riebeeck arrived at Table Bay aboard the Drommedaris, leading a Dutch East India Company (VOC) expedition to establish a refreshment station for passing ships. The station became the foundation of colonial Cape Town, with lasting consequences for the Khoekhoe and San peoples already living at the Cape. For the tercentenary in 1952, the Union of South Africa issued a silver five-shilling crown with a new reverse designed by Marion Walgate, showing the ship arriving beneath Table Mountain. The design was used for that single year. The obverse carries Thomas Humphrey Paget's portrait of George VI, who died in February of the same year.

A crown-sized coin in .500 silver, struck at the South African Mint in Pretoria. The obverse shows the bare-headed portrait of George VI facing left, within the legend GEORGIVS SEXTVS REX, with Paget's initials HP below the truncation. The reverse shows the three-masted Drommedaris under full sail entering Table Bay, with Table Mountain along the horizon, the VOC monogram to the right and Walgate's initials MW to the lower left. The legend reads SUID-AFRIKA · 1652-1952 · SOUTH AFRICA, with the denomination 5s between rosettes below. The edge is milled.

Very Fine, by our own assessment; the coin has not been independently graded. The waves of the hair and the ear remain clear, though the highest points of the portrait are worn smooth. On the reverse the ship, rigging and Table Mountain are all legible, with wear softening the sails and the planking of the hull. Both sides carry a grey tone with darker patches. There is a dark green-grey streak behind the jaw, a small dark spot beside the X of REX, scattered fine marks across the portrait and fields, and a small nick to the obverse rim beside the G.

Key Details

• Country: Union of South Africa
• Denomination: 5 Shillings (crown)
• Date: 1952
• Mint: South African Mint, Pretoria
• Occasion: 300th anniversary of Jan van Riebeeck's landing at the Cape
• Designers: Thomas Humphrey Paget (obverse); Marion Walgate (reverse)
• Metal: .500 silver (50% silver, 50% copper)
• Weight: 28.28 g standard for the issue (14.14 g pure silver)
• Diameter: 38.6 mm standard for the issue
• Edge: milled
• Catalogue reference: KM 41
• Grade: Very Fine (dealer-assessed; not independently graded)
• Condition: circulation wear to the high points; grey toning with darker patches; dark streak behind the jaw; small dark spot beside REX; scattered fine marks; small rim nick
• Buyer profile: collectors of South African and Commonwealth coins, readers of Cape history, and anyone looking for a meaningful South African gift

Collector Appeal

The 1952 crown stands apart in South African coinage as a one-year commemorative design, placing the Drommedaris and Table Mountain where the springbok usually stood. It also belongs to the final year of George VI's coinage. This example shows honest circulation wear while keeping the principal details of the design, from the king's profile to the ship's sails, and makes an accessible first example of the type.

Every mark on a circulated coin was made in the ordinary business of someone's life.