1 Naira

Nigeria's shift to nickel-plated steel for this denomination in 1991 was driven by the chronic devaluation of the naira following the collapse of oil revenues in the mid-1980s — the intrinsic metal value of earlier cupro-nickel issues had become an economic liability worth managing. The structural adjustment program imposed under Ibrahim Babangida pushed the Central Bank toward cheaper coinage compositions across multiple denominations simultaneously.

Circulation was heavy and the plating on these pieces wears through quickly, exposing the steel core to oxidation. Problem-free survivors are harder to find than mintage alone would suggest.