2) Sapeque, 1900-A. PCGS MS-62 Red Brown. KM-6; Lec-16.
A neat pair of type coins issued for French possessions in what would become Vietnam.
As far as this cataloger can ascertain, there is a minor numismatic controversy regarding denominating the bronze minor issue, namely is it a two Sapeque or mere one? Sources are divided, with Lecompte and other scholarly sources calling this denomination a singular Sapeque, with Krause and the major numismatic auction companies calling it 2. Sapeque is a much older term that arises from low value zinc and brass cast coins that were sufficient to meet the monetary needs of the local population. The French introduced a version of this coin valued at 1/500 a piastre or two mils according to some monetary systems. This probably led to conflation and calling this issue a 2 Sapeque as a singular Sapeque was assumed to be 1/1000 a unit of accounting, which belies the truth of what Sapeque were before the French.
Estimate: $70 - $100