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Historical · South Africa
1949 South African 5 shillings
George VI faces a standing springbok. A South African five-shilling coin with English and Afrikaans country names.
Flip this coin →Free to flip. Two sides. Equal chances.
The story behind the coin
The source photograph shows George VI on one face and a springbok in a sparse landscape on the other. SOUTH AFRICA and SUID-AFRIKA flank the date 1949, while 5 SHILLINGS is written below the animal. Both faces come from one paired photograph and retain their natural silver-gray appearance.
Which side is heads?
- Heads
- George VI facing left, with GEORGIVS SEXTVS REX around the rim.
- Tails
- A standing springbok, SOUTH AFRICA, SUID-AFRIKA, 1949 and 5 SHILLINGS.
A different coin. The same fair toss.
The artwork changes, but every virtual toss still has a 50/50 chance of heads or tails. We simulate the movement; the result is chosen independently. This is not a simulation of the physical balance of a historical coin.
Windrain, via Wikimedia Commons. CC0. Both faces cropped from one real paired photograph, background removed and resized. Image license ↗ View source record ↗