Lao kip

The piastre was the currency of French Indochina between 1885 and 1952.

In 1945–1946, the Free Lao government in Vientiane issued a series of paper money in denominations of 10, 20 and 50 att and 10 kip before the French authorities took control of the region.

The kip was reintroduced in 1955, replacing the French Indochinese piastre at par. The kip (also called a piastre in French) was sub-divided into 100 att (Lao: ອັດ) or cents (French: Centimes). It was pegged to the French franc at a rate of 10 francs per kip.

On 10 October 1958, the kip's peg switched to the US dollar, and was officially devalued from ₭35 to ₭80 per US dollar:[3] however, the official exchange rate did not reflect market conditions at the time, with the parallel rate reaching ₭600 per dollar by the end of 1963. Laos devalued the kip again on 1 January 1964, and adopted an official rate of ₭240 per dollar and a "free market" rate of about ₭505 per dollar: the free market rate then fell to ₭600 per dollar on 8 November 1971, with the official rate being abolished on 4 April 1972.[3]

The Pathet Lao introduced the liberation kip on 12 October 1968, for circulation in the areas that the group controlled. Banknotes for the liberation kip, which were printed in China, consisted of ₭1, ₭10, ₭20, ₭50, ₭100, ₭200 and ₭500.[4]

According to the Pathet Lao's media outlet Siang Pasason, one liberation kip was worth 6 royal kip on 20 August 1975, three days before the Pathet Lao entered Vientiane.[5] Based on historic exchange rates provided by the International Monetary Fund, one US dollar in 1975 was worth 725 royal kip or 120.83 liberation kip.[6]

In 1976, the new communist Laotian government replaced the royal kip with the liberation kip. The exchange rate was 20 royal kip per liberation kip.[4] A currency confiscation was carried out, where individuals could exchange up to 100,000 royal kip for liberation kip, and businesses up to one million royal kip: they had to deposit the rest in a bank.

On 16 December 1979, the former Pathet Lao “Liberation” kip was replaced by the new Lao kip at a rate of 100 to 1.[7]

Coins were again issued in Laos for the first time in 28 years in 1980 with denominations of 10, 20 and 50 att, with each being struck in aluminum and depicting the state emblem on the obverse and agricultural themes on the reverse. These were followed by commemorative 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 kip coins issued in 1985 for the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. However, due to the economic toll of the Soviet collapse in 1991 and the persistence of chronic inflation, coins are rarely seen in circulation.

Obverse	Reverse	Value	Obverse	Reverse	Composition	Date of issue
		10 att	Value, farmer	Emblem of Laos (1975-1991 version)	Aluminum	1980
		20 att	Value, farmer ploughing with ox	Emblem of Laos (1975-1991 version)	Aluminum	1980
		50 att	Value, fish	Emblem of Laos (1975-1991 version)	Aluminum	1980

Banknotes issued in 1975 or before in Pathet Lao controlled areas, and were in denominations of 1, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 kip.[8]

In 1979, banknotes were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 kip. 500 kip notes were added in 1988, followed by 1000 kip in 1992, 2000 and 5000 kip in 1997, 10,000 and 20,000 kip in 2002 and 50,000 kip on January 17, 2006 (although dated 2004). On November 15, 2010, a 100,000 kip banknote was issued to commemorate the 450th anniversary of the founding of the capital, Vientiane, and the 35th anniversary of the establishment of the Lao People's Democratic Republic.[9][10][11] Kaysone Phomvihane (1920–1992) is pictured on the obverse of the 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, and 100,000 kip banknotes.

The Bank of Laos governor announced on January 25, 2012, that the Bank of Laos would issue 100,000 Kip banknotes as a regular issue on February 1, 2012 (but dated 2011) to encourage Lao people to use the national currency instead of U.S. dollars and Thai baht.[12][13][14] As of 2019, the ₭500 note is the smallest one commonly in circulation.

Current Series
Image		Value	Description		Date of issue	Series Designation
Obverse	Reverse		Obverse	Reverse
		₭1	Militia unit at left, arms at upper right.	Classroom at left.	1979	P-25a
		₭5	Shopping	Elephant-logging	1979	P-26a
		₭10	Lumber mill at left, arms at upper right.	Hospital at left.	1979	P-27a
		₭20	Arms at left, tank with troop column at center.	Textile mill at center.	1979	P-28a
		₭50	Rice-planting	Hydroelectric dam	1979	P-29a
		₭100	Harvesting	Bridge	1979	P-30a
		₭500	Irrigation	Fruit harvesting	1988	P-31a
		₭1,000	Women from the three major ethnic groups of Laos: Lao Lum, Lao Sung and Lao Theung, with Pha That Luang in the background.	Cattle herd	2003	P-39
		₭1,000	Women from the three major ethnic groups of Laos: Lao Lum, Lao Sung and Lao Theung, with Pha That Luang in the background.	Cattle herd	2008	P-39a
		₭2,000	President Kaysone Phomvihane (1920–1992), Wat Xieng Thong in Luang Prabang	Hydroelectric complex in Xeset	1997
		₭2,000	President Kaysone Phomvihane (1920–1992), Wat Xieng Thong in Luang Prabang	Hydroelectric complex in Xeset	2011	P-41
		₭5,000	President Kaysone Phomvihane; Pha That Luang	Cement factory in Vang Vieng	2003	P-34b
		₭5,000	President Kaysone Phomvihane; Pha That Luang	Cement factory in Vang Vieng	2020
		₭10,000	President Kaysone Phomvihane; Pha That Luang	Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge	2003	P-35b
		₭10,000	President Kaysone Phomvihane; Pha That Luang	Lao-Nippon bridge	2020
		₭20,000	President Kaysone Phomvihane; Haw Phra Kaew Temple	Theun Hinboun hydroelectric power plant	2003	P-36B
		₭20,000	President Kaysone Phomvihane; Haw Phra Kaew Temple	Theun Hinboun hydroelectric power plant	2020
		₭50,000	President Kaysone Phomvihane; Pha That Luang	Presidential Palace	2004	P-37
		₭50,000	President Kaysone Phomvihane; Pha That Luang	Presidential Palace	2020
		₭100,000	President Kaysone Phomvihane; Pha That Luang	President Kaysone Phomevihane Statue and Museum in Vientiane	2011	P-42
		₭100,000	President Kaysone Phomvihane; Pha That Luang	Viengxay caves in Houaphanh Province	2020

Commemorative Banknotes
Image		Value	Description		Date of issue	Series Designation
Obverse	Reverse		Obverse	Reverse
		₭100,000	Statue of King Setthathirath, Pha That Luang, Dok Champa flower and Nāga.	Haw Phra Kaew Temple	2010	P-40