The 1892 Double Shaft Pond is the famous first-year error of the ZAR coinage: the Berlin mint’s wagon on the coat of arms got two shafts and equal-sized wheels instead of the Voortrekker wagon’s one shaft and larger rear wheels. A one-year type struck before the design was corrected, it is the signature coin of the Kruger series. This entry covers the story, specs, and why forgeries cluster around it.
Key facts
- Dated 1892, struck on contract at the Royal Prussian (Kaisermunt) Mint in Berlin because the new Pretoria mint was not yet operational; engraver Otto Schultz’s initials “O.S.” appear on Kruger’s shoulder in relief.
- Specs: gold, 22.00 mm, 7.988 g, 0.2352 oz AGW; mintage 16,000 (KM10.1).
- The error: the reverse wagon shows two shafts and equal front/rear wheels; the traditional Voortrekker wagon had a single shaft and larger rear wheels. Combined with the “O.S.” initials (Afrikaans for “ox”), the blunder nearly cost Kruger the election — new corrected coins followed.
- Proofs exist (KM10.1 proof; Heritage notes an estimated proof mintage of ~10 pieces per Hern).
- Dealer sources flag beware-of-forgery status on 1894, 1897, 1898, 1898/99, 1900 and Veld Pond dates — authentication of ZAR gold demands grading-company verification at purchase time (authentication practice, not an authentication claim).