4 Riels Old Sailing Craft

Cambodia's 1988 coinage program was produced under the People's Republic of Kampuchea, the Vietnamese-backed government installed after the ousting of the Khmer Rouge in 1979. The country remained under international embargo throughout this period, excluded from the United Nations seat still held by the Khmer Rouge coalition, which meant these coins were struck more for collector export than domestic circulation — the PRK economy ran primarily on barter and rationed goods through most of the 1980s.

KM#71 was part of a themed series issued through foreign minting arrangements, a common revenue strategy for isolated states with hard currency needs.