The native Khmer have their own history and tradition, the progressive civilized culture for the long periods. Presently, if we read the historic books which were completely published, most of them are written by the authors in the neighboring countries or in Europe, expressing the various concepts on Cambodia’s issues. However, if there is the historic document written by Khmer authors, not much of which is internationally used; naturally, the foreign authors regarded Khmer people as a reporter.

The Pe Preah Dambong Silver Coin, The Museum of Ethnology Tuol Kork

It was disappointing that most Khmer traditions failed to attract those authors; therefore, those articles are hardly ever written concerning the supplies, jobs, daily life, or construction techniques. To share the development of knowledge, we would like to raise the history and technique of producing Pe as follows.

3.6.1 The Source of Pe

The cash currency has been issued in Battambang during the 19^th century for the commercial sector which reached the modernization in all sectors although this province has been under the control of Siam till 1907.

This coin currency made of the metal such as silver, lead, and copper, which was divided into two types- Keung and Krud. For Keung, there is a picture of bird on one side and the other side is smooth without any picture. Similarly, for Krud, there is a picture of standing Garuda by seeing aside and the other side, bearing the stamping letter “Preah Dambong” representing Battambang province.

3.6.2 The Methods of Producing Pe

According to Mr. Touch Chhuong’s article, we learnt that Chek Chuy, a Chinese person, took weighed tin and some silver to mix together, and then put in a clay pot called furnace. After that he cooked them into a solution. Next, he half-filled a large container with water and floated a piece of banana tree. Soon recently, Chek Chuy poured cooked tin water onto the piece of banana tree. No sooner or later, the tin was dispersed into small pieces in water and lifted them out of water and dried. Later on, he weighed those pieces of tin, poured into the small holes of the mold, and cooked them again to be a coin shape including a picture ornate a Garuda bird and Preah Dambang on the other side. After such doing this, Chek Chuy took Pe to dry on a mat in front of his house as rice drying. He added that Chek Chuy’s house, a coin producer, was situated opposite Wat Damrei Saa on the other side of Stung Sangke. More significantly, his apprentices could earn two Baht or sixteen Pe a day.

3.6.3 The Value of Currency Pe

Through Mr. Touch Chuong’s study, we know that the highest valued currency in that period is the bar of pure silver, Nen, from Siam. It would be noticed that one Nen is worth sixteen Riel, and one Riel is subdivided into ten Kak. On top of that, we also see that there are other units of currency which has llower value than Nen such as fifty Bia is worth one Loth; two Loth one Att; one Att one Phai; two Pai one Fuang; two Fuang one Sling or one Pe; four Sling one Baht or one Duong or six Kak, Khmer currency; four Baht one Damling; twenty Damling one Chi.

Fig. 1-2 The Pe Silver Coin, One Side is Garuda Sculture, And Preah Dambong On Another Side, The Museum Of Ethnology Tuol Kork

Because of confusion over those real values of currency, the authors raised the value of goods as examples: One Riel could get Khian, a kind of woman’s

long skirt, a plane, or one copper coin; one Kak one chicken or one big snakehead; three Sling two boxes of match; one Sling two coils of vermicelli; five Sling a large plate of porridge; three-five Riel ten bushels of rice, and Kandeng monastery was constructed through one hundred Nen.

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