100 Shillings Snake, nickel plated steel

Uganda's shilling had collapsed so severely by the late 1980s that the government redenominated in 1987, cutting six zeros and issuing a new shilling. The 100-shilling coin that eventually emerged in this nickel-plated steel format replaced earlier brass and cupro-nickel versions as the Bank of Uganda sought cheaper production costs during a period of continued monetary instability.

The snake depicted on this issue references Uganda's rich herpetofauna — a deliberate shift toward national wildlife imagery that distinguished Ugandan coinage from its earlier post-independence designs.