The state title "ZAMBIA" appears at the top, curved in a clockwise direction above the central 5 millimeter circular hole. It is accompanied by the Gregorian date of minting, "1966", which is printed in the opposite direction along the coin's bottom rim and separated from the aforementioned text by two small decorative four-pointed stars.

Displayed along the upper periphery, extending clockwise from the left to right sides of the coin, is the face value "ONE PENNY". An abbreviated form of the value, "1d." is written horizontally at the bottom of the piece, just below the hole. The "d", shortened for the Latin word denarii, has historically been used to express amounts in pence in pound-based currencies. Both renderings of the coin's face value are separated by two four-pointed stars similar to those on the obverse.