10 Lisente - Letsie III

Lesotho's coinage has always been complicated by its geographic enclosure within South Africa, and the Loti was pegged at par to the South African Rand from its introduction in 1980 under the Common Monetary Area agreement — a peg that remains in force today. In practical terms, Rand coins circulate freely alongside Lesotho issues, which limits the effective demand for domestically minted pieces and keeps actual circulation figures well below nominal mintage.

Letsie III ascended the throne for the second time in 1996, following his father Moshoeshoe II's death under contested circumstances.