Cambodia's 1860 coinage program was organized under French protectorate pressure, established just two years after Norodom I signed the treaty bringing Cambodia under nominal French oversight. These essai pieces were struck in Paris as pattern submissions rather than for circulation — the denomination never entered regular production in silver at this weight, making the essai the only realized form this particular specification ever took.
Cambodia's 1860 coinage program was organized under French protectorate pressure, established just two years after Norodom I signed the treaty bringing Cambodia under nominal French oversight. These essai pieces were struck in Paris as pattern submissions rather than for circulation — the denomination never entered regular production in silver at this weight, making the essai the only realized form this particular specification ever took.