Catalog
10 Ngwee
| Issuer | Bank of Zambia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1968-1987 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | A crowned hornbill (Lophoceros alboterminatus), Zambia's national bird, is depicted perched and facing left, shown in naturalistic relief with careful attention to plumage and the distinctive large bill with casque. The bold numeral 10 appears to the left of the bird in the field, while the two-line legend TEN NGWEE is inscribed beneath in capitals, together conveying the denomination. The reverse design is rendered in a clean, documentary style characteristic of Royal Mint engraving practice of the period. |
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| Additional information |
Zambia's first decimal coinage was introduced in 1968 when the country converted from the pound-based system inherited at independence, replacing shillings and pence with the kwacha and ngwee. The ngwee denominations were designed to facilitate everyday transactions in a largely rural economy where small-denomination coins did the real work of commerce. This piece ran continuously through nearly two decades of significant economic turbulence, including the copper price collapse of the mid-1970s that gutted Zambia's export revenues and forced repeated austerity programs.
The nickel brass alloy chosen here was a deliberate cost measure — cheaper to produce than cupro-nickel while retaining reasonable durability.