2 Tambala

KM#34a is the copper-plated steel successor to the original bronze KM#34, a composition change driven by the rising cost of copper in the early 2000s that affected small-denomination coinage across much of sub-Saharan Africa. Malawi's tambala denominations were already of negligible purchasing power by this point — cumulative kwacha inflation had eroded their utility to near zero — yet the Reserve Bank continued striking them for formal tender compliance.