The Central Bank of Lesotho introduced this denomination as part of a broader recoinage program following the death of King Moshoeshoe II in 1996 — Letsie III, who had briefly ruled once before under South African pressure only to be restored, now held the throne permanently. Lesotho's currency, the loti, remains pegged at parity with the South African rand under the Common Monetary Area agreement, meaning these coins circulated in a system where rand coins were equally legal tender.
The nickel clad steel construction replaced earlier brass issues as a cost-reduction measure common across southern African mints during the late 1990s.
The Central Bank of Lesotho introduced this denomination as part of a broader recoinage program following the death of King Moshoeshoe II in 1996 — Letsie III, who had briefly ruled once before under South African pressure only to be restored, now held the throne permanently. Lesotho's currency, the loti, remains pegged at parity with the South African rand under the Common Monetary Area agreement, meaning these coins circulated in a system where rand coins were equally legal tender.
The nickel clad steel construction replaced earlier brass issues as a cost-reduction measure common across southern African mints during the late 1990s.