Cambodia's billon coinage of the 1870s and 1880s was produced under French protectorate administration, which had been imposed on Norodom I in 1863 after he sought French backing to secure his own throne against rival claimants. The French effectively controlled monetary policy, and these small fractional pieces were struck to facilitate petty commerce in a kingdom that was sovereign in name only by this point.
KM#26 is among the scarcer denominations of the Norodom series in circulated grades — the low intrinsic value of billon meant these saw hard daily use.
Cambodia's billon coinage of the 1870s and 1880s was produced under French protectorate administration, which had been imposed on Norodom I in 1863 after he sought French backing to secure his own throne against rival claimants. The French effectively controlled monetary policy, and these small fractional pieces were struck to facilitate petty commerce in a kingdom that was sovereign in name only by this point.
KM#26 is among the scarcer denominations of the Norodom series in circulated grades — the low intrinsic value of billon meant these saw hard daily use.