Coat of arms and country name in Afrikaans and English.

The coat of arms was granted by King George V by Royal Warrant on 17 September 1910, few months after the formation of the Union of South Africa.

It was a combination of symbols representing the four provinces (formerly colonies) that made up the Union:
• The first quarter is the figure of Hope, representing the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope.
• The two wildebeests of the second quarter represent the Colony of Natal.
• The orange tree in the third quarter was used as the symbol of the Orange Free State Republic.
• The wagon in the fourth quarter represented the Transvaal.
• The supporters are taken from the arms of the Orange River Colony and the Cape Colony.
• The lion holds four rods, bound together, symbolizing the unification of the four former colonies.

The motto, Ex Unitate Vires was officially translated as "Union is Strength" until 1961, and thereafter as "Unity is Strength".

Obverse engraver initials varieties exist:
• 1970-1983: T.S. below base of the coat of arms right-hand side (Tommy Sasseen)
• 1984: no engraver initials (Arthur Sutherland)
• 1985-1989: A.L.S. below base of the coat of arms left-hand side (Arthur Sutherland)

Aloe plant with denomination above.

Aloe, also written Aloë, is a genus containing over 500 species of flowering succulent plants. The most widely known species is Aloe vera, or "true aloe", so called because, though probably extinct in the wild, it is cultivated as the standard source of so-called "aloe vera" for assorted pharmaceutical purposes.

The genus is native to tropical and southern Africa, Madagascar, Jordan, the Arabian Peninsula, and various islands in the Indian Ocean (Mauritius, Réunion, Comoros, etc.).

Engraver: Tommy Sasseen