Lesotho is a high-altitude kingdom within the border of South Africa. It's crisscrossed by a network of mountain ranges and rivers, including the Thabana Ntlenyana. The Lesotho loti (LSL) is the official money of the Kingdom of Lesotho. A loti can be subdivided into 100 units known as lisente. The coins are issued in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 lisente, and 1, 2, and 5 loti, while the banknotes are issued in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200 loti.
In 1966, the Lesotho loti was first introduced although as a non-circulating currency. It instead served as a numeraire to price things like the debt of the government; however, other currencies were used in exchange. In 1980, the first issued Loti coins went into circulation. It is pegged to the South African rand (ZAR) at par by South Africa's Common Monetary Area. Even when the loti was meant to replace the South African rand, the latter currency is still presently legal tender in the Kingdom of Lesotho. The original loti banknotes that came in several different sizes were very colorful and had a variety of designs. Nonetheless, the notes were often counterfeited, which prompted the release of the banknotes' new issue in 2011.
