1 Kwacha

Malawi's kwacha was introduced in 1971 when the country decimalized its currency, replacing the pound system inherited from the colonial Nyasaland administration. The 2004 brass-plated steel issue reflects a long-running cost-reduction strategy by the Reserve Bank, which had been substituting cheaper plated blanks for solid alloy coins since the late 1980s as the kwacha's purchasing power eroded under persistent inflation and IMF structural adjustment conditions.