Kenya's bimetallic shilling coinage of this period exists because of a straightforward counterfeiting problem: the earlier magnetic steel-core issues proved easy to fake with locally available materials. The switch to a non-magnetic aluminium bronze and copper-nickel construction raised the materials barrier significantly. KM#37.1 is distinguished from the otherwise identical KM#37.2 solely by this magnetic property — a catalog split that frustrates casual collectors but matters operationally to vending machine operators and currency sorters across East Africa.
Kenya's bimetallic shilling coinage of this period exists because of a straightforward counterfeiting problem: the earlier magnetic steel-core issues proved easy to fake with locally available materials. The switch to a non-magnetic aluminium bronze and copper-nickel construction raised the materials barrier significantly. KM#37.1 is distinguished from the otherwise identical KM#37.2 solely by this magnetic property — a catalog split that frustrates casual collectors but matters operationally to vending machine operators and currency sorters across East Africa.