Pakistan's decimal coinage transition in the early 1960s prompted considerable experimentation with aluminium as a base metal for low-denomination coins. This 1966 pattern for the 3 paisa denomination was never adopted for circulation — the value itself was an awkward fit in everyday commerce, and the series was rationalized before such pieces entered production in any meaningful quantity. Aluminium patterns from this period were struck in very small numbers for government and mint approval purposes, making survivors genuinely scarce rather than artificially so.
Pakistan's decimal coinage transition in the early 1960s prompted considerable experimentation with aluminium as a base metal for low-denomination coins. This 1966 pattern for the 3 paisa denomination was never adopted for circulation — the value itself was an awkward fit in everyday commerce, and the series was rationalized before such pieces entered production in any meaningful quantity. Aluminium patterns from this period were struck in very small numbers for government and mint approval purposes, making survivors genuinely scarce rather than artificially so.