10 Cents

Kenya's nickel brass 10 cents was produced across a period that saw the country shift from single-party tolerance to the formal codification of one-party rule under Daniel arap Moi, who banned opposition parties outright in 1982. Monetary policy remained tightly controlled through these years, with the Central Bank oriented toward shoring up the shilling against persistent current account deficits tied to fluctuating coffee and tea export revenues.

The 1978 start date coincides with the death of Jomo Kenyatta and Moi's succession — a political transition that left coinage continuity largely uninterrupted, a deliberate signal of institutional stability.