The pound (Afrikaans: pond; symbol £, £SA[1] for distinction) was the currency of the Union of South Africa from the formation of the country as a British Dominion in 1910.

The following year, the South African Reserve Bank was established as the sole note issuing authority.

The South African pound remained equal to sterling throughout its existence, except for a short period following the abandonment of the gold standard in the United Kingdom in 1931.

According to Jan Smuts in his biography, the Nationalists specifically wanted to make a point of not automatically following suit with the United Kingdom, and they perceived that they were in a strong position to do so.

The effect of South Africa's continuing adherence to the gold standard did not however turn out as Hertzog might have hoped.

By 1933, Hertzog abandoned the gold standard and the South African pound returned to parity with sterling.

The relief was felt almost immediately The South African pound was replaced during decimalisation by the rand on 14 February 1961 at a rate of R 2 = £SA 1.

All the coins had the monarch on the obverse, with the titles in Latin, while the reverse had the denomination and "South Africa" written in English and Afrikaans.