Fiji's cent coinage had long been struck in bronze, but rising copper prices and the economics of low-denomination production forced the shift to copper-plated steel by the mid-2000s. The magnetic variant catalogued here reflects that transition — same planchet supplier logic that drove similar changes across Commonwealth Pacific issues in the same period. The 3rd portrait of Elizabeth II, sculpted by Raphael Maklouf, had been in use since 1985, making this one of the later issues before Fiji's post-coup monetary reforms eventually swept the entire cent denomination from circulation in 2009.
Fiji's cent coinage had long been struck in bronze, but rising copper prices and the economics of low-denomination production forced the shift to copper-plated steel by the mid-2000s. The magnetic variant catalogued here reflects that transition — same planchet supplier logic that drove similar changes across Commonwealth Pacific issues in the same period. The 3rd portrait of Elizabeth II, sculpted by Raphael Maklouf, had been in use since 1985, making this one of the later issues before Fiji's post-coup monetary reforms eventually swept the entire cent denomination from circulation in 2009.