In 1975 South Africa’s circulating coins looked just as they had since 1970: every obverse carries the national coat of arms with the motto «Ex Unitate Vires» and the country name in English and Afrikaans, while the reverses form a gallery of South African symbols. This set of eight coins, from ½ cent to 1 rand, brings that gallery together in full.

The ½ cent and the cent show Cape sparrows, the 2 cents a wildebeest, the 5 cents the blue crane, South Africa’s national bird. The 10 cents carries the Cape aloe, the 20 cents the king protea, the national flower, and the 50 cents a bouquet of three native flowers: the arum lily, the lily of the Nile and the strelitzia. Most of these designs are by engraver Tommy Sasseen.

The rand in the set is silver: its reverse shows the springbok by Jan van Zyl and the motto «Soli Deo Gloria», «Glory to God alone». The springbok is South Africa’s national animal, and it crowns this run of denominations.

The ½ cent of this type was struck only until 1983, and in 1989–1990 bronze and nickel gave way to plated steel, so the set records a coinage long gone from circulation. The VF-AU grade means the coins show varying degrees of circulation, from noticeable wear on the high points to a light rub, with designs and legends readable.

The VPcoins catalogue includes both modern commemorative issues and coins of past eras.