Nepalese Currency - Coins

The Nepalese Rupee, made of 100 Paisa, is the currency of the Nepali people and helps drive the economy. Everywhere from the remote villages of the Himalaya to the specialty shops in the alleys of Kathmandu the merchants trade on notes and coins. Since the bills have denominations down to one Rupee they are mostly commonly used to cover transactions. There are still coins in circulation and they can cover very small purchases. The coins can usually only be found for sale by souvenir vendors as a complete collection set. You will almost never get coins as change, and some of the lowest denominations are being phased out.

The common denominations for the coins are 25 and 50 Paisa, and then 1, 2, 5 and 10 Rupees. They are made of aluminum, bass and copper. Interestingly, on the Rupee paper notes there is a small imprint of the design of the coins with a sword and a message of praise to the deities. There are still no vending machines that will take coins or paper money. Usually for a device such as a public telephone they will rely on the use of a pre-paid card. As a tourist you may start your shopping day with a pile of large denomination bills that you get from a money changer. Some of the smaller shops in the city and in most of the rural villages won't have much to offer in small change. As you go along to the shops try to break your larger bills into smaller ones and coins. Indian Rupees are closely tied to the Nepalese currency, and it is common to pass the Indian currency in Nepal.