50 Paisa - Mahendra Bir Bikram small size

Nepal's coinage underwent a significant metrication push in the mid-1960s as the government aligned its monetary system with decimal reforms, and the reduced-module 50 Paisa was part of that rationalization. King Mahendra's reign was marked by his 1960 dissolution of parliament and imposition of the Panchayat system — a partyless, royally directed political structure that remained in force until 1990. Coins issued under his authority carried the weight of that centralized power quite literally as instruments of state.

KM#779 succeeded the larger-planchet type, the size reduction driven by cost efficiency rather than any change in monetary policy.