Malawi gained independence from Britain in 1964, but the new decimal currency system — replacing the Malawian pound with the kwacha and tambala — didn't launch until 1971. These 1967–1968 pennies belong to an awkward transitional period when the country was still operating on pre-decimal denominations under its first president, Hastings Banda, whose consolidation of one-party rule was already well underway by the time these were struck.
Malawi gained independence from Britain in 1964, but the new decimal currency system — replacing the Malawian pound with the kwacha and tambala — didn't launch until 1971. These 1967–1968 pennies belong to an awkward transitional period when the country was still operating on pre-decimal denominations under its first president, Hastings Banda, whose consolidation of one-party rule was already well underway by the time these were struck.