The first one rand (R1) gold coin to be minted since 1983 is the Heart Transplant R1 gold coin minted in 1997.

The 1997 R1 gold coin was minted in order to commemorate the very first successful heart transplant carried out in 1967 at Cape Town’s Groote Schuur hospital, by Dr Chris Barnard and his team.

The obverse of the tenth ounce 24 carat gold coin portrays the old South African coat of arms and the mintage year, being 1997.

The reverse of the coin features a surgeon at work, on a stylised heart, and the wording 1 Rand.