Item number: A25

Year: AD 1941

Material: Silver

Size: 32.3 x 32.3 mm

Manufactured by: South African Mint

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2023

This 2½ shilling denomination issued by the Union of South Africa in the year AD 1941. The obverse side features a profile portrait of King George VI, the reigning monarch of the Union at that time, designed by T.H. Paget. The inscription “Rex Imperator” on the obverse denotes the Latin title bestowed upon the British monarch after India became a direct colony, signifying the dual role of “King and Emperor.”

On the reverse side, the national name is inscribed in both English and Afrikaans. The shield-shaped emblem on this side incorporates the provincial symbols of the four constituent colonies of the Union. These symbols, arranged clockwise from the upper-left corner, represent the colonies of Cape of Good Hope, Natal, Orange Free State, and Transvaal.

The antecedents of the Natal, Orange Free State, and Transvaal colonies trace back to the white republics established by Afrikaner settlers in the 19th century. Referred to as Afrikaners or Boers, these individuals originated from Huguenot Protestant immigrants from the Netherlands and France who arrived in the 17th century. The discovery of abundant gold and diamond reserves within the boundaries of these republics prompted the British Empire, based in Cape Town, to initiate two Boer Wars (AD 1880-1881 / 1899-1902), resulting in their annexation and consolidation into the Union of South Africa.

Following the end of the World War II, a politically ascendant Afrikaner-centric party, emphasizing white supremacy assumed power, and promptly implemented stringent racial segregation policies domestically. This regime persisted until AD 1994 when the African National Congress, led by Nelson Mandela, emerged victorious in the African National Congress, marking the definitive end of the apartheid era.

物件編號: A25

年代: 公元 1941 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 32.3 x 32.3 mm

製造地: 南非造幣廠

來源: 福君錢幣 2023

此銀幣為公元1941年，南非聯邦發行之面額2½的先令。硬幣正面是設計師T.H. Paget替時任南非聯邦君主的英王喬治六世(George VI)設計的側面肖像。正面的Rex Imperator是印度成為英國直轄殖民地後，英國國君得到的「國王兼皇帝」拉丁文頭銜。硬幣背面的左右兩側，分別以英文和阿非利卡文書寫國名。盾型國徽內的圖案是組成聯邦的四個省徽，從左上角依順時針方向，分別為開普敦、納塔爾、橘河和川斯瓦四個殖民地。

納塔爾、橘河和川斯瓦殖民地的前身，為公元19世紀阿非利卡人建立的白人共和國。阿非利卡人亦稱作布爾人，其源自公元17世紀起，來自荷蘭和法國的新教胡格諾派移民。當共和國境內發現豐富黃金和鑽石的消息傳出後，以開普敦為據點的大英帝國發動兩次布爾戰爭(公元1880-1881 / 1899-1902年)，將其併吞及整併為南非聯邦。

第二次世界大戰結束後，強調白人至上的阿非利卡政黨取得政權，立即在國內推動嚴苛的種族隔離政策，直到公元1994年曼德拉領導的非洲民族議會勝出，才宣告隔離政策的結束。