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Sapèque Essai, With hole, 'ESSAI'
| Issuer | French Cochinchina |
|---|---|
| Year | 1879 |
| Type | Coin pattern |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
French Cochinchina's bronze sapèque was designed to slot into an existing monetary culture where Chinese cash coins — pierced, strung in counted lots — had circulated for generations. The hole was not decorative; it was an economic concession to local trade practice. The 1879 essai represents the French administration testing that format before committing to production, a rare instance of a colonial power deliberately subordinating its minting conventions to indigenous commercial habit.
KM#E4 is a pattern issue, not a circulating strike. Very few were produced.