The Menne Single Shaft Paul Kruger Half Pond of 1892
Nortje, Pierre H. (2021)
Book Summary
This story, a double tragedy, begins in 1935 when Mr William James (Bill) Menne, a well-known and respected farmer in the Northern Transvaal bushveld near Louis Trichardt, inherited his deceased father's coin collection.
At that stage he had no interest in numismatics but thinking that some of the coins might be valuable he kept the coins stored in a bank vault. In 1955 while reading an article in his newspaper about the scarcity of some coins, he remembered his coin collection and decided to look to see what he had stored away for safe keeping 20 years before. He subsequently wrote a letter to the Director of the South African Mint informing him about his father's collection.
One of the coins he mentioned, was dated 1892 with a "one shaft ox wagon" in the crest of the Transvaal Republic on the reverse of the coin. The Director responded and said that it was impossible as only a "double shaft" was possible for the issue of that date.
Bill Menne however was not mistaken and from that day on his father's famous Half Pond has always been referred to as the "Menne" Single Shaft Half Pond. Since then, vast numbers of ZAR Half Ponde have been eagerly examined by numismatists but another similar coin has never been found.
This is the story of the Menne Half Pond, a mysterious and unique South African gold coin.
