South Africa, Republic, engraver: T. Sasseen (obverse), "J. v. C." (reverse), 1974 AD.,
2 Cents (22,5 mm / 4,17 g), bronze, mintage 25.301.000 for circulation, 15.000 in proof quality,
Obv.: SOUTH AFRICA • SUID-AFRIKA / EX UNITATE VIRES / T.S. / • 1974 • , the 1910 South African coat of arms with incuse motto "EX UNITATE VIRES" (Power Through Unity) on ribbon below; country name in two languages: English and Afrikaans. Engraver´s initials r. below motto.
Rev.: 2 c / J.v.Z. , gnu (wildebeest) butting left. Engraver´s initials r. below baseline.
KM 83 .
1910 arms of South Africa:
The first coat of arms was granted by King George V by Royal Warrant on 17 September 1910. This was a few months after the formation of the Union of South Africa.
It was a combination of symbols representing the four provinces (formerly colonies) that made up the Union.
The first quarter is the figure of Hope, representing the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope.
The two wildebeests of the second quarter represent Colony of Natal.
The orange tree in the third quarter was used as the symbol of the Orange Free State Republic.
The wagon in the fourth quarter represented the Transvaal.
The supporters are taken from the arms of the Orange River Colony and the Cape Colony.
The lion holds four rods, bound together, symbolizing the unification of the four former colonies.
The motto, Ex Unitate Vires was officially translated as "Union is Strength" until 1961, and thereafter as "Unity is Strength".
The wildebeest, also called the gnu is an antelope of the genus Connochaetes. It is a hooved (ungulate) mammal. Wildebeest is Dutch for "wild beast" or "wild cattle" in Afrikaans (beest = cattle), while Connochaetes derives from the Greek words konnos ("beard") and khaite ("flowing hair"). The name "gnu" originates from the Khoikhoi name for these animals, "gnou".
Connochaetes includes two species, both native to Africa: the black wildebeest, or white-tailed gnu (C. gnou), and the blue wildebeest, or brindled gnu (C. taurinus). Gnus belong to the family Bovidae, which includes antelopes, cattle, goats, and other even-toed horned ungulates. Fossil records suggest that these two species diverged about one million years ago resulting in a northern and a southern species. The blue wildebeest changed very little from the ancestor species, while the black wildebeest took on more morphological changes to adapt to a habitat of open grassland in the south. Today there are five subspecies of the blue wildebeest while the black wildebeest has no living subspecies. In East Africa, the wildebeest is the most abundant big game species, both in population and biomass.
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