Colonial Coinage

Some European powers under the LMU standard also minted coins for their colonies:

Belgium - Congo
France - Cambodia, Comoros, Morocco, Tunisia
Italy - Eritrea, Somaliland (Somalia)
Spain - Philippines

There are few coins for each colony so they are combined below (except for Tunisia, which has many coins and a dedicated page).

Cambodia (France)

Cambodia was a French protectorate 1863-1945. Norodom I of Cambodia was King 1860-1904. His dynasty continues as monarchs of Cambodia to the present.

The only coinage matching the French standard is dated 1860, before the French protectorate. The 4 francs (20 grams) is the only coin minted of that denomination.

[Pending further research: Numista refers to peso - liked tied to 8 reales; Conflicting information on fineness - 0.835 or 0.9. Also - origin of apparent restrikes from 1899]

4 Francs (20 grams)

1860 (Norodom I)

1 Franc

1860 (Norodom I)

50 Centimes (1/2 Franc)

1860 (Norodom I)

The 1860 peso/piastre, at 26.9 grams, was technically 5.37 Francs (similar to the 5 francs, at 25 grams), though that denomination does not appear on the coin. [Pending — address contemporary LMU coinage at 25g vs. trade coinage at 27g, and as compared to French Indochina)

1 Peso/Piastre (5.37 Francs)

1860 (Norodom I)

Comoros (France)

The Comoro Islands, located off the coast of Madagascar, were a French colony since the early 17th century.

The only silver or gold coin, the 5 francs, was minted in Paris.

5 Francs

1891
(Image: Heritage Jan 2019)

Congo (Belgium)

Congo was a effectively a Belgian colony beginning in the 1870s. It was initially privately controlled by the Belgian King Leopold II and was later annexed by Belgium.

Coinage featuring the Leopold II was minted beginning 1887.

5 Francs

1887 (1st Type)
(Image: Heritage Aug 2015)

5 Francs

1887-1896 (2nd Type)
(Image: Elsen Mar 2022)

2 Francs

1887-1896
(Image: Elsen Mar 2022)

1 Franc

1887-1896
(Image: Katz Oct 2020)

50 Centimes (1/2 Franc)

1887-1896
(Image: Elsen Dec 2024)

Eritrea (Italy)

The colony of Italian Eritrea was officially established in 1890, though Italian interests in the region date back to the 1860s.

All coinage matched the LMU standard, except the 1891-1896 5 Lire, which was 28.1 grams at 0.8 fine (heavier, but matching the 22.5 gram silver content of the LMU 5 lire). The heavier weight was meant to mirror the Thaler (28 grams ), which had been circulating in Eritea and the region at the time.

In 1918, Italy minted a Thaler instead, displaying Maria Theresa instead of King Vittorio Emmanuel III, and with silver content increased from 22.5 grams to 23.5 grams to match other Thalers.

5 Lire (equiv. to 5 francs)

1891, 1896 (Umberto I)

2 Lire

1890-1896 (Umberto I)
(Image: Sincona May 2016)

1 Lira

1890 (Umberto I)
(Image: Nomisma May 2019)

50 Centesimi (1/2 Lire)

1890 (Umberto I)
(Image: NAC Nov 2023)

Indochina (France)

French Indochina largely comprised of Cambodia (already a protectorate), Laos, Vietnam, and parts of China.

Coinage of French Indochina did not match the Napoleonic/LMU standard. The 10 cents was 2.7 grams, not 2.5 grams according to the LMU standard, at a 1 to 5 ratio (1885-1895 (10 centimes - 2.72 g), 1895-1897 (10 centimes - 2.7 g) — not 2.5g).

[Expand research — why French Cambodia matched LMU and French Indochina didn’t (even at a 1 to 5 ratio). Subsidiary coinage of French Indochina appears to have been based on the trade coinage (originating with 27g Spanish coinage)]

Morocco (France)

Morocco became a French protectorate in 1912. It was ruled by a Sultan of the Alawi Dynasty — Hassan I (1873-1894), Abd al-Aziz bin Hassan (1894-1908), Abd al-Hafid bin Hassan (1908-1912), Yusef bin Hassan (1912-1927), and Muhammad V (1927-1953).

The currency from 1880-1921 was the Moroccan Rial (10 dirham = 1 rial). This coinage mirrored the LMU coinage at a 2 to 1 ratio beginning in 1903. Previous coins had a higher silver content (i.e., the 1896 10 dirham 1896, 29.1 grams at 0.9 fine)

In 1921, Morroco adopted the franc (with 1 rial = 10 francs), but the first coin was minted in 1929, after the LMU had been formally disbanded. The 5 francs (1929-1934) was debased relative to the LMU standard (3.5 grams silver, from 22.5 grams).

No gold coins were minted, except for a 4 riales pattern coin dated 1297 in the Islamic Calendar (1880), which matches the weight of a 20 francs.

10 Dirham (equiv. to 5 francs)

1320/1903 (Abd al-Aziz)

10 Dirham (equiv. to 5 francs)

1321/1903 (Abd al-Aziz)

10 Dirham (equiv. to 5 francs)

1329/1911 (Abd al-Hafiz)

10 Dirham (equiv. to 5 francs)

1331/1913 (Yusuf bin Hassan)

5 Dirham (equiv. to 2.5 francs)

1320/1903 (Abd al-Aziz)

5 Dirham (equiv. to 2.5 francs)

1320/1903-1321/1903 (Abd al-Aziz)

5 Dirham (equiv. to 2.5 francs)

1321/1903-1323/1905 (Abd al-Aziz)

5 Dirham (equiv. to 2.5 francs)

1329/1911 (Abd al-Hafiz)

2.5 Dirham (equiv. to 1.25 francs)

1329/1911 (Abd al-Hafiz)

2.5 Dirham (equiv. to 1.25 francs)

1331/1913 (Yusuf bin Hassan)

1 Dirham (equiv. to 1/2 franc)

1331/1913 (Yusuf bin Hassan)

1 Dirham (equiv. to 1/2 francs)

1320/1903-1321/1903 (Abd al-Aziz)

Philippines (Spain)

The Philippines was a Spanish colony (1565-1898) and later an American colony (1898-1946).

Spanish Colonial Period
The colonial currency was initially the real, as in Spain. In 1857, the peso was adopted, which was decimalized (1 peso = 100 céntimos). This coincided with the decimalization in Spain beginning in 1858. The first peso coin was minted in 1864, before the first peseta coin in Spain (1869).

The first silver peso coin was minted before the LMU and corresponded to the Napoleonic standard (subsidary silver at 0.9 fine) and it was converted to the LMU standard (0.835 fine) in 1868.

The gold peso was minted from 1861-1885 to match the Spanish escudo at a ratio of 2 pesos to 1 escudo. It was not adjusted to match or mirror the LMU standard: the 4 peso had a gold content of 5.9 grams, higher than the LMU 20 peseta of 5.8 grams.

American Colonial Period
The currency remained the peso, but the weight and silver content was changed. The 10 céntimos (equiv. to the LMU 1/2 franc), was changed from 2.5 grams at 0.835 fine to 2.7 gram at 0.9 fine. The increase in weight is unusual given that the U.S. dime at that time was 2.5 grams [Pending research].

In 1907, the weight and fineness was reduced to 2 grams at 0.75 fine.

No gold coins were minted in the American colonial period.

10 Céntimos (equiv. to 1/2 franc)

1864-1868 (Isabella II)

10 Céntimos (equiv. to 1/2 franc)

1880-1885 (Alfonso XII)

Somaliland (Italy)

Italian Somaliland was a protectorate of the Kingdom of Italy from 1889-1936.

Italian silver coins were minted beginning in 1910, but did not match the LMU standard in denomination, size, or fineness. The lire was introduced in 1925 debased relative to the LMU standard. The 1925 5 lire was 6 grams at 0.835 fine, or 5 grams silver, about 80% less than the 22.5 grams under the LMU standard.

No gold coins were minted.