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| Quantity | Cash/Check | Credit Card | Paypal/Pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 - 2 | $141.95 | $147.91 | $149.76 |
| 3 - 4 | $141.45 | $147.39 | $149.23 |
| 5 - 9 | $140.95 | $146.87 | $148.70 |
| 10 - 14 | $140.45 | $146.35 | $148.17 |
| 15 or more | $139.95 | $145.83 | $147.65 |
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The 2023 1 oz South Africa Big Five Series II Buffalo Silver Coin is struck in .999 fine silver by the South African Mint, carrying a face value of 5 Rand (R5) as legal tender.
Part of Big Five Series II, the South African Mint's annual series celebrating Africa's five most iconic large mammals, it features the Cape buffalo in a distinctive split-face design: two halves of a buffalo's close-up portrait, with adjacent coins combining to reveal a full face or an entire herd. It ships in a blister card with a Certificate of Authenticity in Brilliant Uncirculated condition and is IRA-eligible.
Obverse
The obverse features the South African coat of arms above a full-body Cape buffalo portrait, with face value (R5), SOUTH AFRICA, and 2023.
Reverse
The reverse features one half of a close-up Cape buffalo face in fine BU detail, the defining design feature of the Big Five II series. Place two Buffalo coins side by side, and the halves align into a complete portrait. Arrange multiple coins and the composition expands into a full herd, a numismatic design concept unique to this South African Mint series.
The term "Big Five" originated not in wildlife conservation but in the era of trophy hunting. It referred to the five animals considered most dangerous and difficult to pursue on foot in the African bush: the African elephant, lion, rhinoceros, leopard, and Cape buffalo. These five were hunted across what is now Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and South Africa throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, and the term entered common usage through hunting literature and safari culture. Today, it is a conservation and safari tourism designation used across sub-Saharan Africa. The South African Mint adopted it for a flagship numismatic series, launching Big Five Series I in 2019 with the Elephant.
Big Five Series II began in 2021 with fresh designs; the 2023 Buffalo coin is the third release of Series II, following the Lion and Rhinoceros. Big Five Series III launched in 2024 with the Lion in a new full-body reverse format. The Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is widely considered the most unpredictable and dangerous of the Big Five. Unlike the elephant or lion, which generally avoid confrontation when unprovoked, the buffalo is known for charging without warning and for circling back to pursue perceived threats, behavior that earned it the nickname "Black Death" among early hunters. It symbolizes resilience, communal defense, and raw strength: a buffalo herd operates with collective protective instincts, surrounding vulnerable members when threatened. The South African Mint sources its precious metals from Rand Refinery, founded in 1920 in Germiston, South Africa, and recognized as the world's largest single-site gold refinery. Rand Refinery refined more than 50,000 tonnes of gold over its first century and supplied the metal used in South African Mint products, including this series and the flagship Krugerrand.
The 2023 1 oz South Africa Big Five Series II Buffalo Silver Coin is struck in .999 fine silver by the South African Mint, carrying a face value of 5 Rand (R5) as legal tender.
Part of Big Five Series II, the South African Mint's annual series celebrating Africa's five most iconic large mammals, it features the Cape buffalo in a distinctive split-face design: two halves of a buffalo's close-up portrait, with adjacent coins combining to reveal a full face or an entire herd. It ships in a blister card with a Certificate of Authenticity in Brilliant Uncirculated condition and is IRA-eligible.
Obverse
The obverse features the South African coat of arms above a full-body Cape buffalo portrait, with face value (R5), SOUTH AFRICA, and 2023.
Reverse
The reverse features one half of a close-up Cape buffalo face in fine BU detail, the defining design feature of the Big Five II series. Place two Buffalo coins side by side, and the halves align into a complete portrait. Arrange multiple coins and the composition expands into a full herd, a numismatic design concept unique to this South African Mint series.
The term "Big Five" originated not in wildlife conservation but in the era of trophy hunting. It referred to the five animals considered most dangerous and difficult to pursue on foot in the African bush: the African elephant, lion, rhinoceros, leopard, and Cape buffalo. These five were hunted across what is now Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and South Africa throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, and the term entered common usage through hunting literature and safari culture. Today, it is a conservation and safari tourism designation used across sub-Saharan Africa. The South African Mint adopted it for a flagship numismatic series, launching Big Five Series I in 2019 with the Elephant.
Big Five Series II began in 2021 with fresh designs; the 2023 Buffalo coin is the third release of Series II, following the Lion and Rhinoceros. Big Five Series III launched in 2024 with the Lion in a new full-body reverse format. The Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is widely considered the most unpredictable and dangerous of the Big Five. Unlike the elephant or lion, which generally avoid confrontation when unprovoked, the buffalo is known for charging without warning and for circling back to pursue perceived threats, behavior that earned it the nickname "Black Death" among early hunters. It symbolizes resilience, communal defense, and raw strength: a buffalo herd operates with collective protective instincts, surrounding vulnerable members when threatened. The South African Mint sources its precious metals from Rand Refinery, founded in 1920 in Germiston, South Africa, and recognized as the world's largest single-site gold refinery. Rand Refinery refined more than 50,000 tonnes of gold over its first century and supplied the metal used in South African Mint products, including this series and the flagship Krugerrand.
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