3000 Riels - Norodom Sihamoni Colosseum

Cambodia's commemorative gold program of the mid-2000s was issued partly to rebuild international numismatic credibility following decades of monetary collapse — the Khmer Rouge had abolished currency entirely in 1975, and the riel itself only returned to circulation in 1980. Sihamoni had been crowned just two years before this coin's issue, ascending after his father Norodom Sihanouk's abdication in 2004.

The Colosseum subject is unrelated to Cambodian history; these small-format gold issues routinely paired the monarch's effigy with international landmarks to attract the European collector market.