French Indochina 1940 1/2 cent KM-20
This specimen was lot 3662 in Steve Album Auction 51 (Santa Rosa, CA, January 2025), where it sold for $156. The catalog description[1] noted, "FRENCH INDOCHINA: French Colony, AE 1/2 centime, 1940, a fantastic example, PCGS graded MS66 RD, ex Howard A. Daniel III Collection." This type was struck 1935-40 in bronze and in 1939-40 in zinc (KM 20a). While this is the scarcest date, it is not rare. French Indochina was occupied by the Japanese in 1940. French attempts to reoccupy the area after World War Two were challenged by Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh, leading to French defeat and withdrawal in 1954. The colony was divided into Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
Recorded mintage: 11,218,000.
Specifications: 4 g, bronze, 21 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-20, Lec-33.
- Gadoury, Victor, and George Cousinié, Monnaies Coloniales Françaises, 1670-1988, 2me Éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 1988.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 51, featuring the Howard Daniel III Collection of Asian Coins, the Almer H. Orr III Collection of World Coins and the Joe Sedillot Collection of German Coins, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2024.
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