10 Paisa - Mahendra Bir Bikram

Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah came to power in 1955 and moved decisively to consolidate authority, dissolving Nepal's first elected parliament in 1960 and imprisoning Prime Minister B.P. Koirala. The coins struck in his name through the early 1960s reflect a monarchy actively reasserting itself against democratic experiment. This issue falls squarely in that period of the Panchayat system — Mahendra's partyless political framework that would remain in place until 1990.

KM#763 was produced at the Royal Mint, London, as Nepal lacked domestic minting capacity for base-metal coinage at the time.