1 Cent - Mswati III 1st portrait

Swaziland's switch to copper plated steel for the one cent reflected broader regional trends in base metal coinage during the 1980s, driven by the rising cost of bronze. The 1986 issue falls early in Mswati III's reign — he assumed the throne in April of that year at age eighteen, following the death of his father Sobhuza II and a contested regency period that lasted nearly four years.

Sobhuza II had ruled for over sixty years, the longest verified reign of any monarch in recorded history. The transition to a teenage king after such a reign made even minor coinage updates politically charged.