AFGHANISTAN. Kingdom. Mohammad Zahir Shah, 1933–1973. Nickel Clad Steel 50 Pul. Kabul, SH1332 (1953). KM-946.

This nickel clad steel 50 Pul was struck at the Kabul Mint in SH1332 (1953 AD), during the reign of Mohammad Zahir Shah. It is part of the nickel clad steel series introduced in SH1331 (1952) that modernized Afghan circulation coinage across multiple denominations, replacing the earlier bronze issues that had characterized Afghan base metal coinage since the 1930s. The shift to nickel clad steel reflected both changing metallurgical standards in world coinage and the broader modernization of Afghanistan's monetary infrastructure under Zahir Shah in the early 1950s. Catalogued as KM-946, this type was struck in nickel clad steel to a standard weight of 4.92 grams at 22.3mm diameter and was produced across several dates from SH1331 through SH1334 (1952–1955), with SH1332 representing the second year of issue. A note of practical importance for collectors: Numista records that edge rust is very commonly encountered on examples of this type, a direct consequence of the nickel clad steel blanks used in production — the steel core beneath the nickel cladding is susceptible to oxidation, particularly at the edge where the cladding can be thin or interrupted. Examples free of edge rust are correspondingly scarcer than the survival rate of the type might otherwise suggest.