1 Cent

Zimbabwe's small bronze-plated steel cents from this period circulated during the last decade before hyperinflation made low-denomination coins functionally worthless. The switch from solid bronze to steel-core planchets, reflected in the KM#1a designation, was a cost-cutting measure as the Reserve Bank struggled to keep coinage economical to produce — a harbinger of the monetary collapse that would follow within a few years of this series' end.