Fiji's 2010 coinage reform replaced the Elizabeth II portrait series with a new national identity set ahead of the country's broader currency restructuring — this dollar was among the last issues to carry the colonial-era reverse design before Fiji's $2 coin became the workhorse denomination for higher-value transactions. The trimetallic construction was adopted partly as an anti-counterfeiting measure and partly to satisfy vending machine operators, a practical lobbying force in Pacific island currency decisions that is rarely acknowledged in official mint documentation.
KM#163 is sometimes confused with transitional issues from the same year. Port Elizabeth on this attribution refers to the South African Mint facility that struck these pieces under contract.
Fiji's 2010 coinage reform replaced the Elizabeth II portrait series with a new national identity set ahead of the country's broader currency restructuring — this dollar was among the last issues to carry the colonial-era reverse design before Fiji's $2 coin became the workhorse denomination for higher-value transactions. The trimetallic construction was adopted partly as an anti-counterfeiting measure and partly to satisfy vending machine operators, a practical lobbying force in Pacific island currency decisions that is rarely acknowledged in official mint documentation.
KM#163 is sometimes confused with transitional issues from the same year. Port Elizabeth on this attribution refers to the South African Mint facility that struck these pieces under contract.