What are Cambodia's 1979 riel notes?

They are the notes of a country starting its money over. Cambodia's first riel circulated from 1953 until May 1975. For the next five years the country had no monetary system at all, because the Khmer Rouge set out to abolish currency. Our Cambodia banknotes guide covers that period and the 1975 notes that were printed but never issued.

The rebuilding began in 1979. Under the People's Republic of Kampuchea, the central bank was re-established in October 1979, known officially as the People's National Bank of Kampuchea and informally as the Red Bank. Its old headquarters in Phnom Penh had been destroyed in an explosion on 17 April 1975, so the bank opened a temporary head office on the upper floor of the Khmer Bank of Commerce. Wikipedia lists the Vietnamese dong as the currency of the new state until 1980.

On 20 March 1980 the riel came back, at four riels to the US dollar. Because there was no money for it to replace, the government gave the new notes away to encourage people to use them. Wikipedia records the starting ratio in a form that tells you what the notes meant in daily life: one riel equalled one kilogram of rice.

What is a kak in Cambodian money?

A kak is one tenth of a riel, and a sen is one hundredth. The word kak comes from the Hokkien 角, and sen from the French cent. Both subunits have since dropped out of common use because of inflation, which is why the kak notes now live in albums rather than wallets.

The 1979 issue had eight values: 1, 2 and 5 kak, then 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 riels. The Numista catalogue gives the sizes of the five smallest, and each step up the scale is a larger note.

Put the 1980 rice ratio next to the table and the 2 kak note becomes easy to picture: by our arithmetic, 0.2 riel matched about 200 grams of rice when the currency returned. Cambodia also struck aluminium 5 sen coins dated 1979, then no further coins until 1994.

What is on the 1979 Cambodian 2 kak note?

Rice farming. Numista describes the 2 kak design as women planting rice and oxen pulling a plow. The 1 kak carries the state emblem of the People's Republic of Kampuchea on the front and a water buffalo plowing a rice paddy on the back, with the denomination written out in Khmer as one kak.

The smallest notes of the new riel showed the work the country was going back to: planting rice and plowing the paddies.

The larger values turn from the fields to landmarks. Numista lists the 1979 5 riels with the Victory Memorial in Phnom Penh, and the People's Republic of Kampuchea 50 riels with an aerial view of Angkor Wat, the temple that also featured on the first riel notes. Read together, the series moves from the paddy to the capital to the great temple.

The lettering is in Khmer. Numista translates the 1 kak's legend as People's Republic of Kampuchea, 0.1, one kak.

What should you check before buying a 1979 Cambodia note pack?

Our 1979 kak notes come in packs of 100, so the checks are about the pack as much as the note. Here is what we look at:

1. The Pick suffix. For the 1 kak, Numista lists P-25a as the issued note and P-25s as a specimen with SPECIMEN overprinted in red on both sides. A pack of issued notes should carry the a suffix, as ours do.
2. The serial run. In a pack of 100 consecutive notes, the first and last serial numbers should be 99 apart with no gaps. Our guide to consecutive serial numbers explains how to check a run quickly.
3. Paper and edges. These notes are printed on paper and are more than four decades old. Look along the edges of the stack for toning, and at the band area for marks left by staples or ties.
4. Size. A 2 kak note should measure about 107 by 53 mm. A note that is clearly off size is worth a question before you buy.

Expect these to be common notes rather than rarities. Numista's rarity index for the 1 kak, based on its members' collections, is 12 on a scale where 0 is very common and 100 is rare. That is good news for collectors: a crisp pack lets you hold a whole run of the notes that restarted Cambodia's money, without hunting for single pieces.

Why does Cambodia use US dollars alongside the riel?

The habit formed after the riel returned. Through the 1980s and early 1990s, aid and refugee remittances arrived in dollars, and from 1991 to 1993 the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia stationed 22,000 personnel across the country, whose spending made up a large part of the economy. Annual inflation as high as 177 percent eroded confidence in the riel at the same time.

Since the late 1990s the riel has held at about 4,100 to the US dollar, and both currencies are used side by side. In June 2020 the National Bank of Cambodia began moving small US dollar notes out of wide circulation to encourage use of the riel. That history is why the 1979 kak notes feel so distant from today's money, even though they began the riel still in use.

Frequently Asked Questions

When did Cambodia bring back money after the Khmer Rouge?

The riel was re-established as Cambodia's national currency on 20 March 1980, at four riels to the US dollar. The central bank behind it had been re-established in October 1979, which is why the first notes of the new riel are dated 1979.

What is a kak in Cambodian currency?

A kak is one tenth of a riel, and a sen is one hundredth. The name comes from the Hokkien 角 (kak). Kak and sen are no longer in common use because of inflation, but they appear on the 1979 1, 2 and 5 kak notes.

How much is 2 kak in riel?

Two kak is 0.2 riel, or 20 sen. When the riel returned in 1980, one riel was equated with one kilogram of rice, so by our arithmetic a 2 kak note represented about 200 grams of rice.

Who issued Cambodia's 1979 banknotes?

The notes carry the name of the People's Republic of Kampuchea. The central bank of that period was re-established in October 1979 and was known officially as the People's National Bank of Kampuchea, and informally as the Red Bank.

What is on the Cambodian 2 kak note?

Numista describes the 2 kak design as women planting rice and oxen pulling a plow. Its companion, the 1 kak, shows the state emblem on the front and a water buffalo plowing a rice paddy on the back.

What does P-26a mean on a Cambodian note?

P-26 is the note's number in the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, known as the Pick catalog. The letter marks the variety: for the 1979 1 kak, Numista lists P-25a as the issued note and P-25s as a specimen.