The South African Reserve Bank has launched two commemorative circulation coins to celebrate the legacy of Charlotte Maxeke and the women who marched to the Union Buildings in 1956.
The first R2 coin commemorates 125 years since Charlotte Maxeke became the first black South African woman to graduate with a university degree.
In 1901, Maxeke earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Wilberforce University in the US, an achievement viewed as an act of defiance against the limits that the authorities and society of her time had placed on black people, especially black women.
The second commemorates 70 years since the historic Women's March, when more than 20 000 women marched to the Union Buildings to protest against apartheid-era pass laws.
They are the first South African circulation coins to feature women and form part of the ‘Milestones of Freedom’ programme, launched by President Cyril Ramaphosa in June 2026.
