Cambodia: Coins Issued and Used
Showing only bullion coin types (gold, silver and other precious metals), not circulating.
| Information about what currencies were issued by Cambodia, with lists of coinage, as well as periods when foreign-issued currencies were used. |
| Currency | Riel |
|---|---|
| Period | Riel |
| Used | 1980 - present |
| Description | As part of French Indochina, Cambodia had used the French Indochinese Piastre until it gained independence in 1953. In 1953, the Riel currency was introduced, at par with the Piastre and with banknotes dual denominated in Piastre and Riel; there were parallel editions with similar arrangements with the đồng in South Vietnam and the kip in Laos. In 1975, the Khmer Rouge communists took control of the country and abolished not only the currency, but the concept of money altogether. After the Vietnamese attacked Khmer Rouge in 1978, the Riel (ISO code KHR) was re-established as Cambodia's national currency on 20 March 1980, initially at a value of 4 Riels = 1 U.S. dollar. It is subdivided into 10 kaks or 100 sens. Because there was no money for it to replace and a severely disrupted economy, the central government gave away the new money to the populace in order to encourage its use. The currency is now pegged to the US Dollar at 1 USD ≈ 4,050 KHR, meaning that its sub-units (the kak and the sen) are no longer practical. Currency circulation is mainly served by banknotes; the US Dollar also widely circulates in the country. |
4 coins (2022 - 2023)
1 coin (2022)
| Coin Name | Mintage |
|---|---|
| Silver Five Ounces 2022 Lost Tigers of Cambodia | 500 |
6 coins (2022 - 2025)
| Coin Name | Mintage |
|---|---|
| Silver Ounce 2022 Lost Tigers of Cambodia | 10,500 |
| Silver Ounce 2023 Lost Tigers of Cambodia | 12,000 |
| Silver Ounce 2023 Clouded Leopard | 12,000 |
| Silver Ounce 2023 Asia Big Five - Asian Elephant | 12,000 |
| Silver Ounce 2024 Lost Tigers of Cambodia | 12,000 |
| Silver Ounce 2025 Lost Tigers of Cambodia | 12,000 |
| Currency | Riel (1953 - 1975) |
|---|---|
| Period | Riel (1953 - 1975) |
| Used | 1953 - 1975 |
| Description | As part of French Indochina, Cambodia had used the French Indochinese Piastre until it gained independence in 1953. In 1953, the Cambodia branch of the Institut d'Émission des États du Cambodge, du Laos et du Vietnam issued notes dual denominated in piastre and Riel with the Riel being at par with the piastre. At the same time, the two other branches of the Institut had similar arrangements with the đồng in South Vietnam and the kip in Laos. The piastre itself was derived from Spanish pieces of eight (pesos). The Riel was at first subdivided into 100 centimes (abbreviated to cent. on the coins) but this changed in 1959 to 100 sen (សេន). For the first few years, the Riel and piastre circulated alongside each other. The 10, 20 and 50 centimes of 1953 and sen coins were minted in aluminium and were the same size as the corresponding att and xu (su) coins of Laos and South Vietnam (though without the holes in the Lao coins). In 1975, the Khmer Rouge communists took control of the country and abolished not only the currency, but the concept of money altogether. After their defeat, a second Riel currency was established in 1980 based on the US Dollar. |
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