10 Ngwee

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.