1 kg Silver African Range Cheetah 2026 (Mintage: 100 | High Relief | Proof)
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Only 100 specimens worldwide – a true rarity with enormous appreciation potential- Majestic cheetah in impressive high relief and Proof finish
- 1 kg of purest silver 999 – a crisis-proof treasure for generations
- Only 100 pieces worldwide: This extremely limited mintage makes the Cheetah 2026 a true rarity with enormous appreciation potential for collectors
- Breathtaking high relief: The leaping cheetah appears virtually alive and tangible thanks to the sculptural minting and mirrored Proof finish
- 1 kilogram of purest silver: 999/1,000 fine silver from the renowned South African Mint – a proven inflation hedge and crisis protection in one
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shareSouth African Mint · Est. 1892
TheAfrican Range
The first high-relief strike in the history of the South African Mint.
Act I of the hunt: the cheetah surveys.
„Untamed gold: artistry, nature and form — united in perfect balance.“
More than three years of conceptualisation, modelling, prototyping and refinement culminate in a work of enduring distinction: South Africa’s first high-relief coin series.
The feline form rises from the surface with striking dimensionality — a direct link to the bronze sculpture it draws from. And to the untamed animal itself.
One series — five acts — 2026 to 2030
The cheetah’s hunt
One act per year. Five coins tell the complete story of a hunt — from the first survey to the repose that follows. Linked not merely in style, but in narrative.
From termite mounds the cheetah scans the grassland — razor-sharp eyesight, absolute patience.
Crouched low in the tall grass, silent to within 30 metres. Stillness. Precision.
The explosion: 100 km/h in three seconds — the fastest land animal on earth.
The dewclaw trips the prey — the hunt is decided in seconds.
After the hunt, stillness returns. The circle closes — and with it, the series.
The 2026 design
Survey — the surveying cheetah
Reverse — “Surveying Cheetah III” after Dylan Lewis
Dynamism in a triangle
The sculpture’s profile silhouette forms a forward-tilted triangle — tension, balanced by typography arranged in a perfect half circle along the bottom.
The textural frame
A frame executed in the same texture as the sculpture underscores its hand-wrought character — and demanded an entirely new approach to coin modelling.
A landscape in atmosphere
In the background: a delicately lasered savanna landscape with atmospheric depth — applied at maximum laser resolution.
The common portrait
The obverse of all five issues presents a cropped profile view of Dylan Lewis’s bronze “Cheetah Head” — gesturally connected to the Survey figure on the reverse.
One nation, many languages
“Iningizimu Afrika” — South Africa in isiZulu. Each issue carries the country’s name in a different official language of South Africa.
„In Lewis’s felines the boundary between creature and terrain dissolves: the surfaces suggest not fur, but rock, earth, grass and wind — pressed into form.“
From the official SA Mint companion book
Obverse — “Cheetah Head”, the series’ common obverse
“Surveying Cheetah III”, bronze — Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Cape Town
The artist
Dylan Lewis
Born in 1964 into a South African family of artists, Dylan Lewis is widely recognised as one of the world’s foremost sculptors of the animal form. Between 1993 and 2000 he devoted himself to Africa’s great predators — leopard, lion and cheetah.
His international career spans exhibitions in Paris, Sydney, Toronto, Houston and San Francisco. He is among the few living artists to have held solo auctions at Christie’s in London.
A unique development process
Three years. Eight stages. One masterpiece.
An ordinary coin begins with a drawing. The African Range began with a three-metre bronze — and went through a process never seen before.
The bronze
It begins not with a sketch but with a finished work of art: Dylan Lewis’s “Surveying Cheetah III” — born of years of field observation.
The photography
A rigorous photography project explores every conceivable angle of the sculpture until the optimal composition for the circular format is found.
The plaster model
Engraver Duma Mtimkulu translates the sculpture into plaster by hand — more than ten months of consultation and creative reviews until proportion, volume and texture are perfect.
The artist takes over
Dylan Lewis reworks the model with his own hands — every gesture of the original flows directly from the sculptor’s hand into the coin.
Digital integration
Ultra-high-resolution 3D scans merge handcraft and original into a final model under the direction of chief engraver Thinus Scheepers.
CNC & second pass
The model is CNC-cut into plaster again at ultra-high resolution — and the artist refines it once more. A step no standard process includes.
First patterns
April 2024: the first patterns with enhanced relief are struck on copper blanks — proof that the sculptural vision can be minted.
Laser finishing
Stochastic laser frosting with inverted tonality lends the figure raw energy and the landscape atmospheric depth.
„Over 100 years of combined professional experience — in a single model.“
„Perhaps the most detailed model ever produced for South African legal tender.“
The technique
What high relief really means
Hold the coin to the light and you see it at once: shadows travel across muscle and rock, as if the bronze itself stood before you — within the diameter of a palm.
Patterns (copper, April 2024) and unpolished die
↑ Sculptural depth
Markedly higher relief than classic proof coins: the figure rises bodily from the surface — tangible, visible, three-dimensional. Gold is struck to its physical flow limit.
✦ Stochastic laser frosting
Instead of a coarse halftone screen: a stochastic tonal frosting with a strikingly analog feel — fine enough to render atmospheric perspective in the background landscape.
◑ Inverted tonality
A photographically inverted frosting makes the figure and edge details stand proud of the field — raw energy, maximum depth.
The SA Mint has experimented with tonal laser frosting since 2016. The African Range is the culmination of that research.
2026 edition
Strictly limited mintages
The official mintage figures of the entire edition — worldwide. Once sold out, gone forever.
| Metal | Weight | Diameter | Face value | Worldwide mintage | Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold 999.9 | 1 kg | 90 mm | 1.000 Rand | 10 | |
| Gold 999.9 | 5 oz | 45 mm | 500 Rand | 50 | |
| Gold 999.9 | 2 oz | 38,65 mm | 200 Rand | 200 | |
| Gold 999.9 | 1 oz (privy mark) | 27 mm | 100 Rand | 50 | |
| Gold 999.9 | 1 oz | 27 mm | 100 Rand | 550 | |
| Gold 999.9 | 1/4 oz | 20 mm | 50 Rand | 2.000 | |
| Silver 999 This coin | 1 kg | 100 mm | 50 Rand | 100 | |
| Silver 999 | 5 oz | 50 mm | 20 Rand | 350 | |
| Silver 999 | 2 oz | 38,65 mm | 10 Rand | 2.000 |
Source: “The African Range” — official companion book of the South African Mint (2025). Mintages of individual dealer editions may differ — the respective product title is authoritative.
Official legal tender
Struck by the South African Mint, a subsidiary of the South African Reserve Bank — with guaranteed authenticity and mintage.
The collection at Kettner
Choose your Act I
From the 2 oz silver coin to the artist edition with bronze statue — seven ways to become part of the hunt. Five issues through 2030 — and every complete collection begins with this first act.
Untamed Gold.
The hunt has begun.
Acts II to V will follow — Act I, however, will never be struck again. Whoever wants to own the whole story begins at its beginning.
1 kg Silver African Range Cheetah 2026 – A World Premiere for Collector's Hearts
- Strictly limited: Only 100 pieces of this mintage exist worldwide
- Growth potential: Very high appreciation potential due to strict limitation and strong demand among enthusiasts
- Rarity: An exceptionally rare collector's coin that is truly unique in this form
- Investment appeal: A rarity with character that holds genuine collector potential due to its limited mintage
- Design: A majestic cheetah in full sprint – Africa's fastest land animal, impressively modelled in High Relief
- Mint quality: Highest possible execution in Proof (PP) with mirror-like background
- Material / Fineness: 1 kilogram of purest silver at a fineness of 999/1,000
- Manufacturer: Minted by the renowned South African Mint
- Country of origin: South Africa – home of the "Big Five" and countless big cats
Sometimes a coin comes to market that takes your breath away. That is precisely what the new silver coin from the African Range achieves. The Cheetah 2026 – a cheetah in full stride, frozen in gleaming silver. And the best part: only 100 pieces exist worldwide. Those who act now are not securing an ordinary investment, but a true piece of collector's history.
A Design with Power and Wildness
The cheetah is considered the fastest land animal on earth – and the South African Mint has captured this speed and dynamism in an impressive manner. Thanks to the High Relief mintage, the design virtually projects from the coin's surface. You almost feel the play of muscles beneath the spotted coat. Every sinew, every gaze, every tensed paw – sculptural and tangible. This depth of effect, combined with the mirrored Proof finish, makes the predator appear truly alive.
A rare collector's coin that does not simply rest in its case, but tells stories – of the vast savannah, of elegance and untamed power.
Why This Coin Is Something Truly Special
A full kilogram of pure silver, set in a diameter of 50 mm. The fine weight is exactly 1,000 grams at a fineness of 999/1,000. The face value of 20 Rand underscores the official character of this collector's coin from South Africa. Yet the true value of this collector's coin lies elsewhere: in its extreme rarity.
With a mintage of only 100 pieces worldwide, this is a true rarity. Such strictly limited mintages are highly sought after among collectors – and it is precisely this scarcity that drives the appreciation potential. Few pieces, many enthusiasts: an equation that has often led to pleasing developments in the world of numismatics.
Silver – The Precious Metal with Two Faces
Silver captivates not only collectors, but also impresses with its solid intrinsic value. It is used in electronics, solar technology and medicine – industrial demand remains robust. At the same time, many investors have long valued silver as a store of value and as an inflation hedge. The white precious metal has also proven itself as crisis protection over centuries.
- Gains from the sale of physical silver are generally tax-free after a holding period of at least one year
- Silver is highly liquid and can be traded easily at any time
- Limited availability speaks in favour of stable long-term performance
The Cheetah 2026 is delivered in a high-quality case, naturally including a certificate of authenticity. This ensures that this precious collector's coin remains optimally protected and gains additional collector's value.
Act Now Before It's Too Late
With such a very low mintage, speed is of the essence. Anyone wishing to call one of these rare pieces their own should not hesitate. Secure this masterpiece from the South African Mint – a magnificent piece of Africa for your collection and a true treasure to pass on through generations.
Product depiction may differ from the final product.