Catalog
50 Cents - Sisavang Vong Essai
| Issuer | Laos |
|---|---|
| Year | 1952 |
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| Value | 50 Cents (0.50) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | ROYAUME DU LAOS * ພະລາຊະອານາຈັກລາວ 1952 ຄ.ສ.໑໙໕໒ |
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| Reverse script | Latin/Lao |
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| Additional information |
The 1952 Laotian essai series was produced in Paris as France moved to formalize coinage for the newly constituted Kingdom of Laos under the French Union. Essais of this period were struck by the Monnaie de Paris as trial pieces for official approval — not intended for circulation, and distributed primarily to collectors and government officials. Sisavang Vong had ruled since 1904, first under French protectorate and then, briefly, under Japanese-backed nominal independence in 1945 before France reasserted control.
The aluminium composition reflects postwar material constraints still affecting French mint production in the early 1950s.