50 Att

The 1980 Lao coinage series was issued under the Lao People's Democratic Republic, established after the Pathet Lao seized power in December 1975, abolishing the monarchy and ending six centuries of royal rule. These aluminum pieces were part of the new government's first standardized coinage program, replacing the kip-denominated coins of the Royal Lao government. Aluminum was the practical choice for a country whose economy had been gutted by decades of war and whose new administration had minimal hard currency reserves.