MALAWI (2 of 2)
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Malawi’s
Latest Coins – The 2003 Series and Beyond…
For my first page for Malawi I detailed the country’s
1995/1996 series of circulation coins, gave an update to show a new
date “2003”
for the 1 Kwacha and mentioned that perhaps the 1 Kwacha 2003 would be
the last
Malawian coin to show President Bakili Muluzi. It has turned out to be
correct
that the coins of 2003 (the first since the 1995/1996 series) are the
last
Malawian coins to show Bakili Muluzi. Furthermore – there is a whole
set of
2003 dated coins for Malawi
and not all include the presidential portrait.
The
2003 Series
It would seem it took a while for the
authorities to
issue some of the 2003 dated coins of Malawi. I first got a 1
Kwacha 2003
in Jan-2004, but it took until Jul-2006 until I got a 1 Tambala 2003
and a 2
Tambala and even longer until I got the other pieces. The table below
compares
the 2003 dated issues with those dated 1995 and 1996. Notably the 1, 2
and 5
Tambala all have a coat of arms on the obverse and each of these three
is a
little different to earlier pieces.
Comparison
of Malawian Coins of 1995, 1996
and 2003 (Reference, Composition, Obverse, Reverse)The 1 Tambala 2003 coins are a new sub-type as the
1 Tambala
coins of 1995 with the coat of arms obverse (i.e. KM-33) are Bronze,
not
Copper-plated-Steel.
The 2 Tambala 2003 coins are a new sub-type as
the 2 Tambala
coins of 1995 with the coat of arms obverse (i.e. KM-34) did not
include the
designer’s initials on the reverse and are Bronze, not
Copper-plated-Steel.
The 5 Tambala 2003 coins are a new
variety as the 5 Tambala
coins of 1995 with the coat of arms obverse (i.e. KM-32.1, previously
KM-32)
did not include the designer’s initials “P.V.” on the reverse.
The 10 Tambala 2003 coins are of the exact same
type as
those of 1995 (i.e. KM-27).
No pieces are known to exist of 20 Tambala with date 2003.
The 50 Tambala 2003 coins are of the exact same type as
those of 1996 (i.e. KM-30). The 1 Kwacha 2003 coins are of the exact
same type
as those of 1996 (i.e. KM-28).
A keen observer of the foreign coins made by the Royal
Canadian Mint, informed me in Oct-2006 that amongst the 100 or so
foreign coins
he saw in a display at that mint, there was a Malawi 2 Tambala 1995 of
the type
with the coat of arms obverse (KM-34). The 1995 “coat of arms” 1, 2 and
5
Tambala coins are all without designer’s initial’s “P.V.”. The 1
Tambala, 50
Tambala and 1 Kwacha reverses from 1995 to 2003 never include
designer’s
initial’s “P.V.” as they were not from the original Malawi
decimal series of 1971 as
designed by Paul Vincze. The reason for the absence designer’s
initial’s “P.V.”
on the 1995 “coat of arms” 2 and 5 Tambala coins must be because of
their minter
having been the Royal Canadian Mint. In a similar manner, when the RCM
has made
coins for Madagascar there have been changes/omissions regarding the
minter/designer marks of the French mint (the previous producer). From
this and
other sources, it is known that the 1995 “coat of arms” 1, 2 and 5
Tambala
coins were made by the Royal Canadian Mint and all other Malawi coins
of 1995
to 2003 (possibly to 2006) have been made by the British Royal Mint
(the minter
of the 1971 series).
The 2004 Coins
The portrait that had first appeared on Malawi’s
coins in 1995 was that of
Bakili Muluzi. He was President of Malawi from May-1994 until May-2004.
His
immediate successor was Bingu wa Mutharika. The new president has
evidently
decided against having his image on any coinage. No Malawian
circulation coins
after 2003 include a presidential portrait; instead they now all show
the
nation’s coat of arms on the obverse.
I have just a 50 Tambala and a 1 Kwacha of 2004 and I
believe these are the only circulation coins with that date.
The 50 Tambala of 2004.
All previous 50 Tambala coins i.e.
those of type KM-19 (1986
and 1994) and of type KM-30 (1996 and 2003) featured a presidential
portrait
(with country name) on the obverse and the country’s coat of arm (with
date and
denomination) on the reverse. So if a new 50 Tambala was not to include
a
presidential portrait then a new design was required. The 2004 50
Tambala above
features the coat of arms (with country name) on the obverse and two
zebras
(with date and denomination) on the reverse. This new type has the same
size
shape and material as 50 Tambala KM-30.
The 1 Kwacha of 2004.
The 1 Kwacha of the 2004 has the same reverse as KM-28 (i.e.
an African Fish Eagle in flight, date and denomination), but the
obverse is
changed being as it features the country’s coat of arms and the country
name.
This new type is of the same size, shape and material as 1 Kwacha coins
of type
KM-28.
The first I knew of these two 2004 dated coins was
when I
acquired them in July 2006. It would seem that they had not been around
long at
that time.
The
2006 Coins
It was in Feb-2006 that the Reserve Bank of Malawi
first revealed it would be issuing 5 Kwacha and 10 Kwacha coins. On the
1-Nov-2006 the bank announced that it expected to issue the new coins
in the
following month. It would seem that the coins were first released not
so soon
as Dec-2006 but rather Jan-2007, all are dated 2006.
The bi-metallic 5 Kwacha coin with date
2006
The 5 Kwacha is bi-metallic with Copper-Nickel ring
and
Nickel-Brass centre. The obverse features the country name and coat of
arms.
The reverse features fishermen at work, the date and the denomination.
These
have a diameter of 27.0mm; my piece has a
mass of 10.3 grams and has thickness, at the rim, of approximately
2.5mm. The
edge on this type is reeded.
The bi-metallic 10 Kwacha coin with date
2006
The 10 Kwacha is bi-metallic with Nickel-Brass ring
and
Copper-Nickel centre. The obverse features the country name and coat of
arms.
The reverse features tea picking, the date and the denomination. These have a
diameter of 28.0mm; my piece has a
mass of 15.1 grams and has thickness, at the rim, of approximately
3.3mm (even
thicker than the 5 Kwacha). The edge on this type is very coarsely
reeded.
Expect the next coins here to be Malawi 1, 5 and 10 Kwacha of 2012.
NOTE: All coin images on this page scaled at approximately
250dpi.
Malawi Tokens Page.
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Added "Malawi’s Latest Coins – The 2003 Series and Beyond…" at May
2013. Correction made to table for KM-29 at Feb2023.