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Sapeque
| Issuer | French Indochina |
|---|---|
| Year | 1887-1902 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Sapeque (0.002 ICFP) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | INDO-CHINE FRANÇAISE A 1901 (Translation: French Indochina) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Chinese |
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| Edge | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
The sapeque was France's attempt to produce a coin that could compete with the traditional cash coins already circulating across Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos — square-holed Chinese-style pieces that local populations understood and trusted. The Paris Mint struck these with the central square hole deliberately, an unusual concession to indigenous monetary custom from an administration not known for accommodating it.
By the 1900s the denomination had largely failed its commercial purpose, undercut by the persistence of Chinese cash and the growing dominance of the piastre system.