20 Cents - Victoria

Mauritius adopted a decimal currency system in 1877, replacing the older rupee-based fractional coinage with a new series tied directly to the Indian rupee at parity. The 20-cent denomination was peculiar to the island — no equivalent piece circulated in Britain or most other colonial possessions — reflecting the specific small-transaction needs of a sugar-export economy dependent on indentured labor from India and Madras following emancipation in 1835.

The .800 silver standard rather than sterling .925 was a deliberate cost reduction, matching the fineness used across several contemporary British colonial issues in Asia and the Indian Ocean.