50 Paisa - Mahendra Bir Bikram

Nepal's transition to decimal coinage in the early 1960s was driven partly by pressure to modernize the monetary system ahead of increased foreign aid and development lending — the World Bank and bilateral donors found the old mohar-based system an administrative inconvenience. These coins were struck at the Royal Mint in London and the Indian Government Mint in Calcutta during the same window, producing subtle die differences between sources that specialists track by rim treatment and font weight in the numerals.