Owner Comments:
Joint Finest Known in FR designation! (1/4)
Nelson Mandela NGC Label.
First Releases Total Graded: 7
Mintage: 202
This coin was issued as part of the 2017 Protea - Nelson Mandela's Freedom Struggle coin series, which continues a series of commemorative coins.
The "Life of a Legend - Nelson Mandela" Protea series was introduced in 2013, representing a different chapter of Nelson Mandela’s life on each year’s coin issue. The 2017 edition of the series focuses on Mr Mandela’s contribution to the African National Congress (ANC) and the resistance movement in South Africa, and on his life sentencing at the Rivonia Trial.
The sterling-silver R1 represents the Freedom Charter, a historic document accepted at the Congress of the People in Kliptown on 26 June 1955. The design features the ten demands representing the people’s hopes and aspirations for a "new" South Africa:
THE PEOPLE SHALL GOVERN! ALL NATIONAL GROUPS SHALL HAVE EQUAL RIGHTS! THE PEOPLE SHALL SHARE IN THE COUNTRY'S WEALTH! THE LAND SHALL BE SHARED AMONG THOSE WHO WORK IT! ALL SHALL BE EQUAL BEFORE THE LAW! ALL SHALL ENJOY EQUAL HUMAN RIGHTS! THERE SHALL BE WORK AND SECURITY! THE DOORS OF LEARNING AND OF CULTURE SHALL BE OPENED! THERE SHALL BE HOUSES, SECURITY AND COMFORT! and THERE SHALL BE PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP!
The inscription is in three concentric lines around the centre. Around below, FREEDOM CHARTER - KLIPTOWN, 26 JUNE 1955.
The group of people featured on the coin represents the approximately 3,000 delegates present at the Congress of the People. Nelson Mandela is shown among these individuals, though he did not formally participate in the day’s events due to a banning order.
The value and denomination R 1 (One Rand) is below the portraits. To the right of that, the initials of the die-sinker VLC (for VL Chipa); the design is by L Guerra.
The obverse, common for all coins of the series in 2017, features Mr Mandela wearing one of his iconic Madiba shirts, underlined by a wreath made from South Africa’s national flower, the King Protea, and the date of issue 2017 divided by the portrait.
Above Mandela's shoulder, the initials of the die-sinker VLC (for VL Chipa); the design is by L Guerra.
Around above, the legend SOUTH AFRICA.