Timeline

• Circulation of silver ingots and round coins with quadratic hole made of brass or tin-zinc, frequently bound together in ligatures of 600 tin-zinc pieces (called "Sapek").
  - Around the mid-1850s, the Cambodian king acquired a minting machine from Siam and issued silver coins (or coin-like ingots) in weights of 1, ¼, ⅛ Siamese tical (of ca. 15.2 grams), dated 1847-1848 (CS:1208-1209), and smaller billon and copper coins.
• 10.04.1862
• Ordinance of the French military commander of the expedition force in Cochinchina, declares the Spanish (Mexican) Dollar legal tender; effective in Cambodia with treaty of protectorate of 11.08.1863
• during 1863
• Rating of current coins in Cochinchina (and Cambodia) against the French Franc:
  - 05.03.1863: Military ordinance, established Spanish (Mexican) Dollar = 5.37 French Francs (effectively varying as 5.35 - 5.55)
  - 13.05.1863: Military ordinance, established Ligature of 600 Sapek = 1 French Franc (effectively about 0.90 French Francs)
  - 12.11.1863: Ordinance, established Siamese Tical (silver) = 4 French Franc, Vietnamese Tien (silver) = 0.10 French Franc.
• 1875-1902
• Issuance of Cambodian silver and bronze coins in French style and denominated in "Franc" and "Peso"
  - ca. 1875: Original issue of 1 Peso (Piastre), 4, 2, 1, ½, ¼ Franc (silver) and 10, 5 Cents (bonze) coins by a Belgian private mint, dated 1860 (start of the second reign of king Norodom I.)
  - ca. 1899: Re-issue of the 4, 2, 1, ½, ¼ Franc (silver) coins in Phnom-Penh using corroded original dies and with lower weights; were used as gifts at the incineration ceremony of the king's mother in 1899
  - ca. 1902: Re-issue of the 1, ½, ¼ Franc (silver) coins without denominations and entitled "souvernir"; were not intended for circulation.
• 24.12.1878
• Resolution of the French Naval and Colonial Office on the creation of the Indochinese Piastre; effective in Cochin-China 01.01.1880 (by governor's decree of 22.12.l879)
  - 22.12.l885: Governor's decree on the extension of the currency to all parts of Indochina (Annam, Cambodia); effective 01.01.1886

Timeline

• 23.12.1954
• Law [No. 922/NS] on the establishment of a central bank and creation of the currency; effective upon constitution of the bank on 01.01.1955
• 01.01.1955
• Start of currency exchange:
  - 01.01.1955: Start of issuance of the new banknotes and coins
  - 29.09.1955: Demonetization of the Indochinese currency.

Valuation Regimes

• 1955-1958
• Fixed rate against French Franc, did not follow the devaluation of 27.12.1958
• 1958-1975
• Fixed rate against US Dollar, official rate became inoperative on 18.09.1974

Timeline

• 17.04.1975
• Accession to power of the Khmer Rouge after the conquest of the capital Phnom Penh
• 30.05.1975
• Government resolution on the abolition of money and banking (creating a "money-less society"); effective immediately
• 07.01.1979
• Vietnamese conquest of Phnom Penh and termination of the Khmer Rouge rule

Timeline

• 23.12.1954
• Government resolution on the re-establishment of a central bank and re-creation of a currency; effective upon constitution of the bank on 20.03.1980
• 20.03.1980
• Start of currency exchange:
  - 20.03.1980: Start of issuance of the new banknotes and coins
  - The currency was initially defined in kind as 1 Cambodial Riel = 1 kilogram of rice (literally, the amount of rice measured by four cans of condensed milk)
  - Throughout the 1980s, the Cambodian economy had fallen back to barter with US Dollars as a circulating medium. In the border regions the currencies of the neighbor countries, Thai Baht and Vietnamese Dong were used in payments
  - There is no known relation to the 1st Cambodian Riel since the monetary structure had been distroyed completely. Based on the official exchange rate, it may be appoximated as 1 Cambodian Riel (1980) = ~250 Cambodian Riels (1955).

Valuation Regimes

• 1979-1989
• Fixed rate against US Dollar, however the official rate was mostly inoperative
• 1989-
• Variable rate