1 Cent Swallow-Tailed Kite, Aluminium

Belize adopted a new coinage series in 1974, two years after achieving independence from Britain, with denominations featuring native wildlife selected partly to distinguish the new national currency from its colonial predecessor. The swallow-tailed kite, a migratory raptor that passes through Belize seasonally, was assigned to the one-cent denomination — the lowest in the series and the one most likely to disappear from circulation quickly given aluminum's light weight and the coin's minimal purchasing power by the early 1980s.