I have collected one or more notes of the currency of every country I have travelled to throughout my life. For each destination, I include a post on the history of the country’s currency and a copy of the notes I have collected.
Cambodia’s currency history is a fascinating reflection of the country’s rollercoaster through time from an ancient coin-based system, a barter and trade system during the Khmer Empire, the French colonial era, complete abolition of currency by the Khmer Rouge, to the modern day Riel system.
Breaking the history down into four periods of time:
Ancient and Pre-Angkor Eras:
* Early Coinage: the ancient Funan and Chenla kingdoms minted primitive coins as early as the 1st or 2nd century BC, influenced by Indian and Chinese traders.
* The Angkor Anomaly: despite managing a massive empire, the peak Angkor period, from 9th to 15th centuries, relied mostly on a barter and trade system without a standardized national currency.
* Sleung Units: later regional trade reintroduced silver currency units known as sleung.
The French Colonial Period:
* French Control: during the French protectorate starting in the 1860s, Cambodia used short-lived currencies like the Cambodian franc.
* Indochinese Piastre: France later integrated Indochina, forcing Cambodia to share the French Indochinese piastre alongside Vietnam and Laos until independence.
The First Riel and Total Abolition (1953–1980):
* First Riel (1955): after gaining independence, Cambodia established the National Bank of Cambodia and launched the first national riel in 1955 to secure monetary independence.
* War-Time Collapse: Civil war and severe inflation heavily damaged the first riel’s value by the mid-1970s.
* Abolition under the Khmer Rouge (1975–1980): the regime completely outlawed money, blew up the central bank building in Phnom Penh, and eradicated the monetary system.
The Second Riel and Modern Dollarization (1980–Present):
* Second Riel (1980): a new national riel was reintroduced in March 1980 to restart the domestic economy.
* Rise of the U.S. Dollar (USD): massive UN intervention and economic rebuilding in the 1990s brought heavy inflows of USD.
* Current Status: the USD operates as a de facto co-currency for everyday and large commercial transactions, while the riel handles smaller change and local wages at a stable unofficial rate of roughly 4,100 riel : 1 USD.
100 Riels (1995): Pink and brown, featuring the Independence Monument in Phnom Penh.
200 Riels (1995): Green and brown, featuring the Bayon temple structures.
500 Riels (2004): A pink-toned note featuring Angkor Wat and a mythical naga snake on the front, and the Kizuna (Cambodia-Japan Friendship) Bridge over the Mekong River on the back.
1,000 Riels (2007 Issue): Features the Victory Gate of Angkor Thom on the front and cargo ships at Sihanoukville Port on the back.
