French Indo China. Colonial Bronze 1/2 Cent Coin.
Mint Years: 1939 Reference: KM-20. Denomination: 1/2 Cent Mint Mark: A (Paris Mint) Material: Bronze Diameter: 21mm Weight: 4gm
French Indochina (French: Indochine française; Vietnamese: Ðông Duong thu?c Pháp, frequently abbreviated to Ðông Pháp) was the part of the French colonial empire in Indochina in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin, Annam, and Cochinchina, as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887. Laos was added in 1893. The capital was moved from Saigon to Hanoi in 1902. During World War II, the colony was administered by Vichy France and was under Japanese occupation. Beginning in 1945, Ho Chi Minh led a communist revolt against French rule known as the French Indochina War. In the South, an anti-Communist government led by former Emperor Bao Dai was granted independence in 1949. Following the Geneva Accord of 1954, Ho’s group became the government of North Vietnam, although the Bao Dai government continued to rule in the South. The colonial administration of Annam, or Central Vietnam, was dissolved in 1955 and region was split between North and South, as provided for in the Geneva Accord.