Cambodian riel

The riel (; ; sign: ៛; code: KHR) is the currency of Cambodia. There have been two distinct riel, the first issued between 1953 and May 1975. Between 1975 and 1980, the country had no monetary system. A second currency, also named "riel", has been issued since 20 March 1980. Since the late 1990s, the riel has had an unofficial fixed exchange rate of 4,100:1 with the United States dollar, Cambodia's second de facto currency for commercial transactions.

Popular belief suggests that the name of the currency comes from the Mekong river fish riĕl ("small fish" in Khmer). It is more likely that it derives from the high-silver content Spanish-American dollar, whose value is eight reales, a coin widely used for international trade in Asia and the Americas from the 16th to 19th centuries.

Concurrent use with foreign currencies

In rural areas the riel is used for virtually all purchases, large and small. However, the United States dollar is also used, particularly in urban Cambodia and tourist areas. In areas near the Thai border, the Thai baht is also accepted.

Dollarization started in the 1980s and continued to the early 90s when the United Nations contributed humanitarian aid, refugees began sending remittances home, and inflation as high as 177% per year eroded confidence in the riel. From 1991 to 1993, the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia stationed 22,000 personnel throughout Cambodia, whose spending represented a large part of the Cambodian economy.

While the riel remains in common use in the provinces, the major cities and tourist areas heavily use the U.S. dollar. The latter is dispensed in ATMs, accepted in virtually all purchases, and USD quotations are required to price hotel rooms, airline tickets and significant financial transactions. The exchange rate of 4,000 KHR/US$ is widely known and employed frequently in retail trade, with riel paid out for change in fractions of a dollar. This is aimed at reducing the cost of keeping the smaller US notes in circulation, as well as increasing the use of the riel in lieu of these notes. At the same time, the two other branches of the Institut had similar arrangements with the đồng in South Vietnam and the kip in Laos. The piastre itself was derived from Spanish pieces of eight (pesos).

The riel was at first subdivided into 100 centimes (abbreviated to cent. on the coins) but this changed in 1959 to 100 sen (). For the first few years, the riel and piastre circulated alongside each other. The first riel banknotes were also denominated in piastres.

First issue, 1955–56: 1 riel, 5 riels, 10 riels, 50 riels.
Second issue, 1956: 1 riel, 20 riels, 50 riels, 100 riels, 500 riels.
Third issue, 1956: 100 riels, 500 riels.
Fourth issue, 1963: 5 riels, 10 riels, 100 riels.
Fifth issue, 1972: 100 riels*, 500 riels, 1,000 riels*, 5,000 riels*. (* Unissued.)

Banknotes of Cambodia. 1 riel.jpg|1 riel

Banknotes of Cambodia 1 riel.jpg|1 riel

Banknotes of Cambodia 10 riel.jpg|10 riels

Banknotes of Cambodia. 10 riel.jpg|10 riels

Banknotes of Cambodia 500 riel.jpg|500 riels

Banknotes of Cambodia. 500 riel.jpg|500 riels

Tampak depan 5000 riel emisi 1974.jpg|5,000 riels (unissued)

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Coins: The 10, 20 and 50 centimes of 1953 and sen coins were minted in aluminum and were the same size as the corresponding att and xu (su) coins of Laos and South Vietnam (though without the holes in the Lao coins). A 1 riel coin about the size of a U.S. nickel was to be issued in 1970, as part of the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization's coin program, but was not released, perhaps due to the overthrow of the government of Norodom Sihanouk by Lon Nol.

Khmer Rouge (1975–1980, 1993–1999)

Although the Khmer Rouge printed banknotes, they were not issued as money was abolished after the Khmer Rouge took control of the country.

Sixth issue, 1975: 0.1 riel (1 kak), 0.5 riels (5 kaks), 1 riel, 5 riels, 10 riels, 50 riels, 100 riels.

|align="center" bgcolor="#000000"|

| rowspan="2" | 20,000 riels

| rowspan="2" | 155 × 72 mm

| Violet and purple

| King Norodom Sihamoni

| Angkor Wat, Four faces of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara

| 2008

| 12 May 2008

|align="center" bgcolor="#000000"|100px

| Light and dark pink and gray

| Naga (mythical snake), king Norodom Sihamoni

| Banteay Srei Temple in Siem Reap province

| 2017

| 16 May 2018

|align="center" bgcolor="#000000"|

| 30,000 riels

| 170 x 75 mm

| Green, brown and purple

| Naga (mythical snake), king Norodom Sihanouk

| King Norodom Sihanouk and Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, Royal Palace, Eiffel Tower and Independence Monument

|2021

| 18 October 2021

|align="center" bgcolor="#000000"|

|align="center" bgcolor="#000000"| 100px

| rowspan="2" | 50,000 riels

| 150 × 70 mm

| Violet, brown and blue

| Norodom Sihanouk

| Angkor Wat, three-headed elephant

| 2001

| 6 April 2001

|align="center" bgcolor="#000000"|

| 155 × 72 mm

| Brown

| Naga (mythical snake), King Norodom Sihanouk

| Bakong Temple and sculpture of elephant at Koh Ker temple

| 2013

| 6 May 2014

|align="center" bgcolor="#000000"|

| 100,000 riels

| 170 × 75 mm

| Green

| Royal Arms of Cambodia, King Father Norodom Sihanouk, Queen Mother Norodom Monineath, Naga (mythical snake) head

| King Father Norodom Sihanouk, Queen Mother Norodom Monineath and King Norodom Sihamoni, stone sculpture

| 2012

| 30 April 2013

|align="center" bgcolor="#000000"|

| 200,000 riels

| 170 × 76 mm

| Gold

| Royal Arms of Cambodia, King Norodom Sihamoni, Queen Mother Norodom Monineath, Naga (mythical snake) head

| King Norodom Sihamoni

Four faces of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (God who hears the cry of the World), Bayon temple (Angkor)

Naga (mythical snake) from Wat Phnom Bridge

| 2024

| 16 October 2024

|colspan="11"|

Coins

The first coins were 5 sen pieces, minted in 1979 and made of aluminum. No more coins were minted until 1994, when denominations of 50, 100, 200 and 500 riels were introduced. However, these are rarely found in circulation.

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%"

! colspan="11"| Coins of the Cambodian riel

! rowspan="2" |Obverse!! rowspan="2" | Reverse !! colspan="2" | Year of

! Obverse !! Reverse

! first minting !! withdrawal

| style="text-align:center; background:#fff;"| 80px ||80px|| 50 riels || 15.9 mm || 1.6 g || Steel || Plain/Smooth

|Denomination, year of minting in Buddhist and Gregorian calendar|| Independence Monument in Phnom Penh || 1994 ||

| style="text-align:center; background:#fff;"|90px||90px|| 100 riels || 17.9 mm || 2 g || Steel || Plain/Smooth

|Denomination, year of minting in Buddhist and Gregorian calendar|| Angkor Wat || 1994 ||

| style="text-align:center; background:#fff;"|95px||95px|| 200 riels || 20 mm || 2.4 g || Steel || Plain/Smooth

|Denomination, year of minting in Buddhist and Gregorian calendar|| 2 Ceremonial bowls (one above the other) Above this is symbol Om (in Khmer language) from which rays of light emitting || 1994 ||

| style="text-align:center; background:#fff;"|100px||100px|| 500 riels || 25.8 mm || 6.5 g || Bi-Metallic; steel in center, brass in ring || Segmented (Plain and Reeded edges)

|Denomination, year of minting in Buddhist and Gregorian calendar|| Royal arms of Cambodia (Lesser version) || 1994 ||

References

External links

Cambodian Currency Collection – Depicts every banknote issued in Cambodia
Historical banknotes of Cambodia

Concurrent use with foreign currencies

Khmer Rouge (1975–1980, 1993–1999)

Coins

See also

References

External links