50 Thebe

Botswana's shift to nickel-clad steel for this denomination in the mid-1990s reflected a broader monetary pragmatics across southern Africa, where rising nickel prices had made solid nickel coinage uneconomical. The Bank of Botswana had issued earlier thebe series in cupronickel, and the transition was quiet — no formal announcement, just cheaper blanks arriving at the mints.

Production was contracted to foreign minting facilities, as Botswana has never operated its own mint.