1000 Kwacha Amur Leopard

Zambia's wildlife coin program of the 2010s was aimed squarely at the collector market, with the Amur leopard chosen largely because its critically endangered status — fewer than 100 individuals in the wild at time of issue — made it a reliable hook for conservation-themed buyers. The Amur leopard's range is restricted to the Russian Far East and northeastern China, making its appearance on a Zambian coin a geographic stretch the issuer made no serious effort to justify.

Silver-plated copper-nickel was the commercial reality behind most of these issues — sold at silver-coin prices to buyers who frequently didn't read the fine print.