Lesotho's independence from British rule came on 4 October 1966, and this gold issue was struck specifically to mark that occasion — one of the first coins produced for the newly sovereign kingdom. Moshoeshoe II had been installed as king only weeks before independence was formally declared, having spent years under the constitutional constraints imposed by the Basutoland protectorate arrangement.
The Pn6 designation confirms this as a pattern piece rather than a circulation strike, almost certainly produced in very limited numbers for presentation or archival purposes.
Lesotho's independence from British rule came on 4 October 1966, and this gold issue was struck specifically to mark that occasion — one of the first coins produced for the newly sovereign kingdom. Moshoeshoe II had been installed as king only weeks before independence was formally declared, having spent years under the constitutional constraints imposed by the Basutoland protectorate arrangement.
The Pn6 designation confirms this as a pattern piece rather than a circulation strike, almost certainly produced in very limited numbers for presentation or archival purposes.