10 Cents

French Cochinchina was the first French territorial possession in Asia to issue its own coinage, and this 10 cents piece was struck at the Paris Mint across a span of years during which France was simultaneously consolidating military control over the surrounding region and negotiating the protectorate treaties that would eventually absorb Annam and Tonkin. The colony's coinage authorization predates the formation of French Indochina by nearly a decade — the unified federation wasn't established until 1887, after which Cochinchina-specific issues ceased entirely in favor of common Indochinese types.

The multiple Zay references reflect distinct emission years with differing mintages rather than major design changes.