Mali struck this coin in 1961, the year following its separation from the Mali Federation — a short-lived political union with Senegal that collapsed after just two months of nominal independence in 1960. The new republic needed coinage fast, and aluminium was the practical choice for a low-denomination piece in a country with limited hard currency reserves and no established mint of its own; production was contracted to Paris.
Mali struck this coin in 1961, the year following its separation from the Mali Federation — a short-lived political union with Senegal that collapsed after just two months of nominal independence in 1960. The new republic needed coinage fast, and aluminium was the practical choice for a low-denomination piece in a country with limited hard currency reserves and no established mint of its own; production was contracted to Paris.