PHNOM PENH: A 1,400-year-old coin is on display at Phnom Penh’s Sosoro Museum to educate the public on the role of money as a source of value, representing the power and prosperity of the Kingdom in ancient times, according to the AKP.

Sosoro, also known as the Preah Srey Içanavarman Museum, highlights the country’s economic and monetary history and focuses on the strong interaction between money, credit, growth and inflation. The coin was issued by the museum’s namesake, Içanavarman I, King of Funan during the Chenla period, which predates the Khmer Empire.

The museum believes the coin acted as more of a medallion and was not used in commercial trade. It represents the Chenla capital of Isanapura, located in Cambodia’s Kampong Thom Province. The coin’s production is a sign of advanced production skills of the day and the the inscription on the coin shows a bold act of sovereignty.

Blaise Killian, co-director of the Sosoro Museum, said that the gold medallion is the oldest to have been found and dates back to the early 7th century, during the Chenla period. The museum also houses older coins, but they are not of Khmer origin, rather they were circulated throughout Southeast Asia.

The Preah Srey Içanavarman Museum was established on August 8, 2019 and named after the Chenla King who is considered to be the first ruler to create gold coins.