Catalog
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
| Issuer | French Indochina |
|---|---|
| Year | 1896-1936 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Jean-Auguste Barre |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | · INDO-CHINE FRANÇAISE · 50 CENT. TITRE 0,900. POIDS 13 GR. 5 (Translation: French Indochina 0,900 purity, 13.5 grams) |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Monnaie de Paris (Paris Mint) |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
French Indochina's silver coinage was struck almost entirely at the Paris Mint, with the 50-centime denomination serving the colonial monetary system that pegged local currency to the Mexican peso before France established the piastre as the unit of account in 1885. The forty-year span of this type reflects how rarely the colonial administration bothered to update circulating coinage — design continuity was a bureaucratic convenience, not a policy statement.
The KM#4a.1 and 4a.2 distinction separates issues by the presence or absence of a mintmaster's privy mark, a detail the Paris Mint applied inconsistently across the run.