Owner Comments:
The South African Union was established in 1910 and existed until the independence of South Africa from Britain in 1961. The Union issued its own coinage from 1923, which were minted at the Royal Mint in Pretoria. The coins were identical in size and value as those used in Britain. The King George V series ran from 1923 to 1936, in which year the monarch passed away.
The 1/4 penny or "farthing" was issued in each year of the series, except 1925, 1927 and 1929. The years 1926, 1933, 1934 and 1936 had extremely low mintages of less than 100 coins per year.
The farthing consists of 95.5% Copper, 3% Tin and 1.5% Zinc. The obverse was designed by Bertram MacKennal and features King George V with the notation "GEORGIVS V REX IMPERATOR", or George V King-Emperor.
The reverse was designed by Kruger Gray and features two Cape sparrows facing each other sitting on a plant with berries. The 1928 farthing reverse features the notations "SOUTH AFRICA - 1928 - ZUID-AFRIKA" and "1/4 PENNY". This is the second reverse design of the series and were used from 1926 to 1931.
Total mintage of the 1928 1/4 penny was 64 301.