They were minted because of the absence of an alternative form of currency in the Nomansland area in which the Strachan and Company stores operated.
There were four different types of token sets minted.
These were minted then put in general use as currency in the area from about 1875 to 1932 when they were outlawed by Government decree and when banks became more accessible (banks opened in Ixopo some 20 miles from Umzimkulu).
Over 20,000 coins were counted in 1980 when research on these tokens was first undertaken by Scott Balson.
All Strachan and Co tokens were holed at 12 o clock so that the natives could wear the coins around their necks together with their beads. The sound that they made when they clinked together resulting in the native name of "kence" (pronouned "kenhjle").
The rarest set of S & Co is the Mountain Home set with the old 1/- "in goods" variety being the rarest individual coin.
In the 1980s the Strachan & Co stores were sold by the Strachan's to the South African government and the family left what was then known as the Transkei.
After Ken Strachan left Umzimkulu he scrapped the coins that were catalogued by Scott Balson despite attempts to buy the coins. These scrapped tokens are now being offered for sale on the Internet. Only a few hundred of the original Strachan and Co tokens remain today.
There are known to be less than 50 complete sets of the 16 Strachan and Co tokens in existence - making them highly valued and sought after today.
Complete sets of the 16 tokens change hands today for as much as US$2,500 (as at 2003).
Scrapped Strachan and Co tokens now being offered for sale on the Internet
at US$11 each
| Other interesting books containing information on these tokens: |
| Kence; the trade tokens of Strachan & Co by C S Balson and Dr C Graham - 1978 |
| E J Maynard's Tokens of Southern Africa (Africana Museum, Johannesburg) 1966 |
| G P Theron's Tokens of South Africa and their history. (1978) |
Return to Main Menu
