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1 Kwacha
| Issuer | Reserve Bank of Malawi |
|---|---|
| Year | 2012-2018 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Kwacha |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The Arms of Malawi occupy the central field, featuring a quartered shield supported by a lion rampant to the dexter and a leopard rampant to the sinister, both rendered in fine relief. Above the shield, a rising sun with radiating rays forms the crest, with an African Fish Eagle displayed upon it. A scroll at the base of the arms bears the national motto UNITY AND FREEDOM in raised Latin lettering. The legend MALAWI appears in large, bold letters along the lower periphery of the coin. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Malawi decimalized in 1971, replacing the pound system inherited from colonial rule, but the kwacha's purchasing power eroded so severely over subsequent decades that by the late 2000s the country was managing one of the most distorted official exchange rates in sub-Saharan Africa. The government pegged the kwacha artificially until 2012, when the IMF conditioned aid disbursements on a free float — the kwacha lost roughly 50% of its value almost overnight in May of that year, the same year this series began.
The shift to stainless steel for this issue reflects that devaluation pressure directly: base metal coinage became the only economically viable option for low denominations.