Cambodian riel

Cambodian riel
រៀល (Khmer)
ISO 4217 code	KHR
Central bank	National Bank of Cambodia
Website	www.nbc.org.kh
User(s)	Cambodia
Inflation	6.2%
Source	The World Factbook, 2011 est.
Subunit
1/10	kak
1/100	sen
Symbol	៛
Coins	50, 100, 200, 500 riels
Banknotes
Freq. used	100, 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000 riels
Rarely used	50, 100,000 riels

The riel (Khmer: រៀល; 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 March 20, 1980. However, this currency has never gained much public acceptance, with most Cambodians preferring foreign currency. The UN peacekeeping operation of 1993 injected a large quantity of U.S. dollars into the local economy. As a result, the dollar has become the country's common currency. Riel notes are used for fractional dollar amounts as U.S. coins are not in circulation. The symbol is encoded in Unicode at U+17DB ៛ KHMER CURRENCY SYMBOL RIEL (HTML ៛).

Popular belief suggests that the name of the currency comes from the Mekong river fish, the riel ("small fish" in Khmer). It is more likely that the name derives from the high silver content Mexican real used by Malay, Indian and Chinese merchants in mid-19th-century Cambodia.

First riel, 1953-1975

In 1953, the Cambodia branch of the Institut d'Émission des États du Cambodge, du Laos et du Vietnam issued notes dual denominated in piastre and riel with the riel being at par with the piastre. 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 (សេន). For the first few years, the riel and piastre circulated alongside each other. Indeed, 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, 1963: 5 riels, 10 riels, 100 riels.
• Fourth issue, 1972: 100 riels*, 500 riels, 1,000 riels*, 5,000 riels*. (* Unissued.)

Coins

The 10, 20 and 50 centimes of 1953 and sen coins were minted in aluminium 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.

Since 1994, the 50, 100, and 200-riel coins have been made of steel, while the 500-riel coin is bimetallic, with a brass outer ring and a steel center disc.

The Khmer Rouge, 1975-1980, 1993-1999

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

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

In 1993 they printed a series of coloured banknotes for limited use on territories controlled by them.

Second riel, 1980-

After the Vietnamese invasion in 1978, the riel was re-established as the Cambodian currency on April 1, 1980, initially at a value of 4 riels = 1 U.S. dollar. It is subdivided into 10 kak (កាក់) or 100 sen. Because there was no money for it to replace and a severely disrupted economy, the central government gave away the new money to the populace in order to encourage its use.

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 Battambang and other areas near the Thai border, like Pailin, the Thai baht is also accepted.

• Sixth issue, 1979: 0.1 riel (1 kak), 0.2 riel (2 kak), 0.5 riel (5 kak), 1 riel, 5 riels, 10 riels, 20 riels, 50 riels.
• Seventh issue, 1987: 5 riels, 10 riels.
• Eighth issue, 1990-92: 50 riels, 100 riels, 500 riels.
• Ninth issue, 1992-93: 200 riels, 1,000 riels*, 2,000 riels*. (* Unissued.)
• Tenth issue, 1995: 1,000 riels, 2,000 riels, 5,000 riels, 10,000 riels, 20,000 riels, 50,000 riels, 100,000 riels.
• Eleventh issue, 1995-99: 100 riels, 200 riels, 500 riels, 1,000 riels.
• Twelfth issue, 2001-07: 50 riels, 100 riels, 500 riels, 1,000 riels, 2,000 riels, 5,000 riels, 10,000 riels, 50,000 riels.
• Thirteenth issue; 2008-13: 100 riels, 500 riels, 1,000 riels, 2,000 riels, 10,000 riels, 20,000 riels, 50,000 riels, 100,000 riels.

Currently issued banknotes

• 50 riels (2002-08-29)
• 100 riels (2001-08-09 and 2015-01-14)
• 500 riels (2002-04-04 and 2014-01-14)
• 1,000 riels (2006-01-06)
• 2,000 riels (2008-01-03 and 2013-11-09)
• 5,000 riels (2001-04-06)
• 10,000 riels (2001-04-06 and 2015-05-07)
• 20,000 riels (2008-05-12)
• 50,000 riels (2001-04-06 and 2014-05-06)
• 100,000 Riels (2013-05-14)

Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	printing	issue	withdrawal	lapse
		50 riels	130 x 60 mm	Dark brown and tan	Prasat Banteay Srei	Dam	2002	August 29, 2002		current
100px		100 riels	130 x 60 mm	Purple, brown and green	Independence Monument	School	2001	August 9, 2001		current
		100 riels		Orange and brown	Naga (mythical snake) head, Buddha, King Father Norodom Sihanouk as a young monk	Khmer statue, Wat Preah Keo (Silver palace), Buddha	2014	January 14, 2015		current
		500 riels	138 x 64 mm	Red and purple	Angkor Wat	Kampong Cham Bridge over the Mekong	2002	April 4, 2003		current
		500 riels		Pink and gray	Naga (mythical snake) head, arms, king Norodom Sihamoni	Nak Loeung bridge, Kizuna (Cambodia-Japan Friendship) bridge over the Mekong River, monument, frieze	2014	January 14, 2014		current
100px		1,000 riels	138 x 64 mm	Brown and lilac	Southern gate at Bayon	Port of Kampong Saom (Sihanoukville)	2005	January 6, 2006		current
		2,000 riels	146 x 68 mm	Green, black and yellow	Prasat Preah Vihear	Angkor Wat and Field Work	2007	January 3, 2008		current
		5,000 riels	146 x 68 mm	Green and gray	Norodom Sihanouk	Bridge of Kampong Kdei (Siem Reap Province)	2001	April 6, 2001		current
		10,000 riels	146 x 68 mm	Violet, brown and blue	Norodom Sihanouk	Royal Palace	2001	April 6, 2001		current
		10,000 riels	146 x 68 mm	Blue	Naga, mythical snake; King Norodom Sihamoni	Neak Pean (entwined serpents) archeological ruins of Buddhist temple on circular island in Preah Khan Baray, Angkor; stone statue of horse, Balaha	2015	May 15, 2015
		20,000 riels	155 x 72 mm		Norodom Sihamoni	Angkor Wat, Four faces of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara	2008	December 5, 2008		current
		50,000 riels	150 x 70 mm	Violet, brown and blue	Norodom Sihanouk	Angkor Wat	2001	April 6, 2001		current
		50,000 riels	155 x 72 mm	Brown	Naga (mythical snake), King Norodom Sihanouk	Korker ruins, sculpture of a baby elephant	2013	May 6, 2014		current
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimeter. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	printing	issue	withdrawal	lapse
		1000 riels	148 x 68 mm	Lilac and dark-blue	Naga (mythical snake) head, Royal Arms of Cambodia, King Norodom Sihanouk	Royal Palace throne room, swan-shaped float carrying Sihanouk's body	2012	January 30, 2013
		2000 riels			Naga (mythical snake) head, Royal Arms of Cambodia, King Norodom Sihanouk	King Norodom Sihanouk alongside two soldiers	2013	November 8, 2013
		100,000 riels			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	May 14, 2013
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimeter. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

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 riel were introduced. However, these are no longer commonly found in circulation.

Current KHR exchange rates
From Google Finance:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD CNY
From Yahoo! Finance:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD CNY
From XE:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD CNY
From OANDA:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD CNY
From fxtop.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD CNY
From Currency.Wiki:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD CNY

See also

• Cambodian tical
• Cambodian franc
• Economy of Cambodia

External links

• Cambodian Currency Collection - Depicts every banknote issued in Cambodia

First riel

Preceded by: French Indochinese piastre Location: French Indochina Reason: independence Ratio: at par Note: piastre not used in self-declared North Vietnam since 1946

Currency of Cambodia 1953 – 1970 Note: transitional notes dual denominated in piastre and riel were used until 1955

Currency of Khmer Republic 1970 – 1975

Succeeded by: Moneyless economy Location: Kampuchea Reason: The Khmer Rouge attempted to implement the Marxist vision of a money-less society Note: The Khmer Rouge did print a series of riel. Some sources say they were never issued. Some say they were issued one month before they were abolished.

Second riel

Preceded by: Vietnamese đồng Reason: reintroduction of a national currency Ratio: 1 riel = 3 đồng = 0.25 U.S. dollar = 1 kg rice

Currency of Cambodia 1980 –

Succeeded by: Current