fco_480847 - CAMBODGE - ROYAUME DU CAMBODGE - NORODOM Ier 1 Franc frappe frustre 1860 Bruxelles

CAMBODIA - KINGDOM OF CAMBODIA - NORODOM I

(1860-1904)

Norodom I asked for help from France against Annam, Siam and Cochin China. A French protectorate was established on August 11, 1863 (Treaty of Paris). The corners of the first coins were made by Charles Wurden, a Brussels engraver, around 1875 and ceded to the king. The crude coins were perhaps minted on the spot on the order of Norodom I. They were offered at major events. These coins were possibly made and put into circulation in 1899 at the time of the cremation of the Queen Mother who had died two years earlier. Norodom died in 1904. His death gave rise to a monetary issue in 1905.