1 Cent

The zinc composition here is a direct consequence of wartime metal allocation — by 1940, France's armament programs had stripped bronze from civilian coinage across both metropolitan and colonial mints. Following the fall of France in June 1940, the Indochina administration operated under the authority of Vichy, and Japanese military pressure on the colony intensified almost immediately after. These cents circulated in a territory that was, functionally, under dual occupation before the formal Japanese takeover in March 1945.

Zinc corrodes aggressively in the humid conditions of Southeast Asia. Problem-free survivors are genuinely uncommon.