How much is a Krugerrand worth?
Specification
| Gross weight | 33.93 g |
|---|---|
| Fineness | 916.7 (91.67%) |
| Fine gold content | 31.104 g |
| Fine gold, troy oz | 1 |
| Diameter | 32.77 mm |
| Mint | South African Mint |
| Country | South Africa |
| Face value | None |
| First issued | 1967 |
About this coin
The coin that invented the modern bullion market. It carries no face value at all - it was designed purely as a way to own a measured ounce of gold, and it worked so well that every mint copied the idea. The copper in its alloy gives it the distinctive reddish tone people notice next to a Maple Leaf.
The coin that invented the category
Before 1967 there was no such thing as a bullion coin - gold coins were either money or museum pieces. South Africa's Krugerrand created the category: a coin priced on its gold content, struck in unlimited numbers, denominated not in currency but in itself - one Krugerrand simply IS one ounce of gold. Every coin on this site follows a trail this one blazed. For a stretch of the 1970s the Krugerrand was, by a wide margin, the most owned gold coin on the planet.
Why so many live in American sock drawers
The United States banned Krugerrand imports in 1985 as part of apartheid-era sanctions, and the ban held until 1994. Existing coins stayed legal to own and trade - so the millions imported in the boom years of the 1970s and early 1980s simply stayed put, which is why the Krugerrand is the coin most often carried into a US shop from an inheritance. If you have found one, its orange cast is normal: the alloy is copper with no silver, warmer-toned than an Eagle, and no less gold for it - one full troy ounce inside 33.93 grams of coin.
How this size compares
| Fine gold | 31.103 g |
|---|---|
| In troy ounces | 1 ozt |
| In pennyweights | 20 dwt |
| Equal to | 4.25 gold sovereigns |
| Bars per kilo | 32.15 of these make one kilo of gold |
Questions people ask
- How much is a Krugerrand worth today?
- Its gold content is worth $4,125.39 at the current spot price of $4,125.39 per troy ounce. That is the melt value - it contains 1 troy ounces of fine gold. A dealer will pay under this figure when buying and charge over it when selling. Krugerrands trade on weight everywhere on earth, which was the entire idea.
- How much does a Krugerrand weigh?
- 33.93 grams gross at 916.7 fineness, which is 31.104 grams of actual gold. The gross weight is what your scale reads; the fine weight is what it is worth. Multiplying the gross weight by the spot price would overstate this coin by about 9.1%.
- Who makes the Krugerrand and is it legal tender?
- It is struck by the South African Mint in South Africa, first issued in 1967. It carries no face value at all and was never intended as circulating money.
- Why is my Krugerrand more orange than my other gold coins?
- Its 8.33% alloy is entirely copper - no silver - which warms the colour. An Eagle of identical fineness reads more yellow because its alloy splits between silver and copper. Colour says nothing about gold content; both coins hold exactly one troy ounce.
- Is it legal to own and sell Krugerrands in the United States?
- Fully. The 1985 sanctions barred new imports, not ownership, and the ban ended in 1994. US dealers buy and sell Krugerrands every day, and common dates trade tight to melt because the coin is recognised everywhere.
- How current is this valuation?
- It is calculated live from the spot price, currently $4,125.39 per troy ounce from swissquote, read at 18:45 UTC. Nothing on this page is a cached daily figure.