Some 2020 million years ago, a meteorite that was probably roughly the size of Table Mountain, ten kilometers by ten kilometers, slammed into the planet close to where the little town of Vredefort now lies. The force of the impact generated such power and heat that the meteorite itself was vaporized, as was some of the earth's crust where it hit. The impact took four minutes to gouge out a crater up to 50 kilometers deep, which quickly collapsed. It set off seismic events of magnitude 14 on the Richter scale. The collapsed crater eventually became 300 kilometers wide and several kilometers deep, filled with rock debris and a thick layer of molten rock.

The R2 (1/4 oz) gold coin series has been depicting South Africa's World Heritage Sites since 2000. This year the 2008 coin features the Vredefort Dome World Heritage Site. The design was created by Kasturi Pillay who won the nationwide coin design competition which was held for the 2008 theme: "The Vredefort Dome - World Heritage Site".

On 17 August 2008, this unique coin was launched in the heart of the Vredefort Impact Crater. The special Launch Set, of which there are only 300 sets, consists of the 1/4 oz pure gold R2 Gold Coin depicting the winning design for this theme, a 1/4 oz pure gold commemorative medallion which features the logo of the Vredefort Dome World Heritage Site and a stone containing red marble which is typical of this area. Embedded in the lid of the wooden box is a magnifying glass to enhance the stone's patterns.

All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy of listings - if any information in this listing is incorrect Goldbull CC will not be held responsible. E&OE