September is Heritage Month in South Africa, and for many Johannesburg families it is also the month when older paperwork, safe deposit boxes and family collections finally get sorted out. Among the items that surface most often are Krugerrands. The Gold Avenue, a gold, diamond and luxury watch buyer based at Illovo Point, 68 Melville Road, Illovo, Sandton, says inherited coins are one of the most common reasons people walk through its door, and the company has set out how the process works for heirs and executors who have never sold a coin before.
Krugerrands have been part of South African household savings for decades. They were bought as gifts, as retirement holdings and as anniversary markers, and they were very often put away and not spoken about again. When the person who bought them passes away, the coins move to a spouse, to children or to grandchildren who may have no idea what they are holding, how many ounces are in the box, or what happens next. The Gold Avenue works with those families regularly, and the company's position is that the process should be explainable in plain terms before anyone commits to anything.
What an heir usually finds in the box
The first surprise for many families is that a coin collection is rarely uniform. A Krugerrand was minted in more than one size. A full one-ounce coin holds one troy ounce of pure gold, and the fractional coins hold proportionally less. Half-ounce, quarter-ounce and one-tenth-ounce Krugerrands were all produced, and a collection built up over twenty or thirty years often contains a mixture of all four. Heirs frequently assume every coin in the tin is the same, and they are then unsure whether a smaller coin is worth anything at all.
It is. The gold content is what carries the value, and a fractional coin carries a proportional share of it. The Gold Avenue weighs and tests every coin individually rather than counting the coins and multiplying, which matters a great deal when a collection is mixed. The same applies to gold coins that are not Krugerrands, which also turn up in estates alongside jewellery and watches.
How the rand figure is worked out
The Gold Avenue prices Krugerrands using what it calls the spot-plus-premium method. Three inputs go into the figure. The first is the live gold spot price, which trades globally, is quoted in United States dollars per troy ounce and moves throughout the trading day. The second is the United States dollar to rand exchange rate, since a weaker rand tends to push the rand price of gold higher and a stronger rand does the opposite. The third is the weight of the specific coin being sold. On a recognised one-ounce coin there is usually a small premium above the raw metal value.
None of those three inputs is set by the buyer, and none of them stands still. That is the single most useful thing for an heir to understand before an appointment. An offer made on one day reflects the market on that day, and the company's published material on the Krugerrand price in rands explains each of the three inputs so that a seller can follow the arithmetic rather than take a number on trust. The Gold Avenue does not publish forecasts of where the gold price is going, and it does not advise families on whether to hold or release a collection. It values what is in front of it on the day it is presented.
The six steps, from first call to payment
The company sets out a six-step process, and it is deliberately short. A seller gets in touch, brings in the coins, watches the testing, receives an offer, decides freely, and gets paid the same day. Its guidance on how to Sell Krugerrands in South Africa runs through those steps in the same order a family will meet them in the room.
The step that matters most for a nervous first-time seller is the third one. Each coin is weighed and tested in view of the person who brought it in. Nothing is taken into a back room, and nothing is assessed out of sight. For an heir who has arrived with a box they did not pack and cannot verify themselves, being able to watch the scale and the test is the difference between a transaction they understand and one they simply have to accept.
The fifth step carries equal weight. An offer from The Gold Avenue is an offer, not a commitment. A seller is free to decline it, take the information away, and come back later or not at all. Families settling an estate often need to consult a sibling, an executor or an attorney before releasing anything, and the company treats that as a normal part of the process rather than an obstacle. Where a seller does accept, settlement is immediate, by cash or by electronic funds transfer, on the same day.
Estates rarely contain only coins
The other practical reality of an inherited collection is that the Krugerrands are usually not on their own. The same safe tends to hold gold jewellery that is broken, unworn or out of fashion, diamond jewellery, and a luxury watch or two. The Gold Avenue buys all of those categories, including Rolex, Patek Philippe, Cartier and TAG Heuer watches, so a family does not need to arrange separate appointments with separate specialists for a single estate. Everything can be assessed in one visit, and the seller can choose to release some items and keep others.
The company also offers collateral-backed cash loans for people who would rather borrow against an item than part with it. That is relevant to heirs specifically, because an inherited piece can carry sentimental weight that has nothing to do with its metal content. A family that wants to keep a particular coin or a particular ring but needs liquidity from the rest of the collection can do both.
Where the appointment happens
Valuations are done at Illovo Point, 68 Melville Road, Illovo, Sandton, 2196. The offices are on the eighth floor of a secure building with on-site security, surveillance and controlled access, which matters when someone is carrying a coin collection across Johannesburg. Appointments are booked in advance by phone, by WhatsApp or through the website, and the seller is asked to describe the items beforehand so the right person is available.
For clients who would rather not travel with an inherited collection at all, The Gold Avenue offers home appraisals. That option is used often by older sellers and by families dealing with a deceased estate where the contents of a safe have not yet been moved.
Credentials and compliance
The Gold Avenue is a registered business that follows South African financial and FICA requirements, which means sellers should expect to provide identification as part of any transaction. The company holds affiliations with the Gemological Institute of America, the Jewellery Council of South Africa, the National Credit Regulator and the European Gemological Laboratory. Its founder, Trent Saldsman, was a nominee for the Eric Ellerine Entrepreneur Award in 2024.
Those affiliations are worth checking for any buyer, not only this one. An heir selling something they did not buy is in a weaker position than a seller who knows exactly what they own, and the ordinary protections are the ones that close that gap: a business with a fixed address, a testing process the seller can watch, a written offer, no pressure to accept, and a payment method that leaves a record. Readers can find full details of the valuation and payment process on The Gold Avenue website at https://thegoldavenue.co.za/.
About The Gold Avenue
The Gold Avenue buys and sells gold jewellery, diamond jewellery, luxury watches, Krugerrands and gold coins in South Africa, and offers collateral-backed cash loans. The business operates from Illovo Point, 68 Melville Road, Illovo, Sandton, in Johannesburg, with valuations carried out in front of the client and settlement by cash or electronic funds transfer on the same day. Home appraisals are available. The Gold Avenue is a registered business that follows South African financial and FICA requirements, and holds affiliations with the Gemological Institute of America, the Jewellery Council of South Africa, the National Credit Regulator and the European Gemological Laboratory.
Media Contact
The Gold Avenue
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +27 10 109 0080
Website: https://thegoldavenue.co.za
