10 Maloti - Moshoeshoe II George Washington

Issued as part of a broader commemorative program marking the 250th anniversary of George Washington's birth, this piece is one of several non-U.S. nations that struck Washington tributes in 1982 — a curious diplomatic flourish that says more about the international coin market of the early 1980s than about any meaningful connection between Lesotho and the first American president. The half-fine silver specification was a cost compromise common to many developing-nation commemoratives of the period, keeping production viable while maintaining the appearance of a precious-metal issue.