100 Riels, National Bank of Cambodia, 2014

Part of the small-value series the National Bank of Cambodia put into circulation from 2014, replacing the worn 2001 design while keeping the 100-riel note as the humblest coin-substitute of a largely dollarised economy. Unlike the earlier note, this one is wholly devotional rather than civic in theme.

The face shows a seated Buddha in the gesture of meditation beside the figure of a young monk, generally identified as King Norodom Sihamoni in his novice years — a nod to the Theravada tradition in which Cambodian men, kings included, spend time in the monastery — all framed by the head of the temple naga. The reverse carries Wat Preah Keo Morakot, the "Silver Pagoda" within the Royal Palace compound in Phnom Penh, whose floor is laid with silver tiles and which houses the emerald and gold Buddhas of the crown. The note is signed by Governor Chea Chanto.