Zahir Shah had taken the throne in 1933 at nineteen following his father's assassination, and the Afghan coinage of the mid-1930s reflects a government still consolidating authority after years of internal instability. The 10 Pul was part of a broader decimal reform series introduced under his reign, replacing the older fractional pul denominations that had created chronic confusion in bazaar transactions across Kabul and Kandahar.
Copper-nickel was a deliberate choice — Afghanistan had leaned on bronze for smaller change through much of the preceding decade, and the switch signaled alignment with modernizing regional neighbors.
Zahir Shah had taken the throne in 1933 at nineteen following his father's assassination, and the Afghan coinage of the mid-1930s reflects a government still consolidating authority after years of internal instability. The 10 Pul was part of a broader decimal reform series introduced under his reign, replacing the older fractional pul denominations that had created chronic confusion in bazaar transactions across Kabul and Kandahar.
Copper-nickel was a deliberate choice — Afghanistan had leaned on bronze for smaller change through much of the preceding decade, and the switch signaled alignment with modernizing regional neighbors.