Page 151. " he found a double handful of gold krugerrands "

by phantomwriter

Gold Krugerrand - Springbok - Credit: massimog1000, Flickr

Gold Krugerrand - Paul Kruger - Credit: massimog1000, Flickr

The Krugerrand is a South African gold coin, first minted in 1967 to help market South African gold. It is named after Paul Kruger, the four-term former president of South Africa.

Page 165. " like a grave yawning at judgment day in some old apocalyptic painting. "

by susannahworth

The Last Judgment, Michelangelo Buonarotti (1475-1564)

There is a great and long tradition of depicting The Last Judgment in religious art; probably the most famous example is Michelangelo's vast, overwhelming fresco in the Sistine Chapel, Rome, with the dark hellish penalties enacted upon the sinners filling the lowest portion of the painting.

The yawning grave refers to the raising of the dead for the final decision on their fate:

Jesus lifting Adam and Eve from their Graves