5 Paise

India's transition away from the anna system in 1957 created a new decimal coinage that required nearly a decade of die and alloy adjustments before stabilizing. The 1964–1966 copper-nickel 5 Paise issues are among the last of this transitional period — the series was subsequently struck in aluminum beginning in 1967, dramatically reducing production costs as the government struggled to keep low-denomination coinage economically viable to mint.