The first South African gold was found in the Rand area of Transvaal in 1886. A hundred years later, South Africa issued this medal to celebrate this find. In the century since the first discovery of gold in South Africa, the gold price rose incessantly. Only a few years before the minting of this medal the price of gold had reached USD 800/ounce. Subsequently, however, it collapsed into a decade-long bear market (a baisse).