Burma's transition to a socialist economy under Ne Win's Revolutionary Council, which seized power in 1962, prompted a complete overhaul of the currency system. The People's Bank of Burma was established as the sole banking authority, and this aluminium issue was part of the new coinage series introduced to replace the previous kyat coins inherited from the parliamentary period. Aluminium was chosen for small denominations largely on cost grounds — the country's economy was deteriorating rapidly under autarkic policies that had driven foreign investment out entirely by the mid-1960s.
Burma's transition to a socialist economy under Ne Win's Revolutionary Council, which seized power in 1962, prompted a complete overhaul of the currency system. The People's Bank of Burma was established as the sole banking authority, and this aluminium issue was part of the new coinage series introduced to replace the previous kyat coins inherited from the parliamentary period. Aluminium was chosen for small denominations largely on cost grounds — the country's economy was deteriorating rapidly under autarkic policies that had driven foreign investment out entirely by the mid-1960s.