Krugerrand Gold Coin

There are some places we probably don’t want to see our own face, like FBI “Most Wanted” posters or unflattering memes. But there are other times when it wouldn’t be so bad...like if our smiling visage was plastered on the front of one-ounce gold coins.

Well, for Paul Kruger, the South African Republic’s president at the end of the 19th century, that gold coin face thing actually happened. That’s right: it’s his distinguished and bearded profile that graces the front of the Krugerrand, a South African one-ounce gold coin that was minted starting in 1967.

Mr. Kruger himself never got to see the Krugerrand—he died in 1904—but once investors clapped their eyes on the shiny gold coins, they became a hot investor’s and collector’s item amongst the goldbug crowd. In addition to being attractive to investors, Krugerrands are also legal tender in South Africa, which means folks who maybe don’t have goldbug tendencies...can spend them like cash.