South Vietnamese đồng

The đồng (銅) was the currency of South Vietnam from 1953 to 2 May 1978. It was subdivided into 100 xu, also written su.

South Vietnamese đồng
đồng Việt Nam Cộng Hòa (Vietnamese)
100 đồng 1966 front100 đồng 1966 back
Unit
SymbolĐ., $
Denominations
Subunit
1100xu or su
Banknotes1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 đồng
Coins10, 20, 50 xu,[1] 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 đồng
Demographics
User(s) South Vietnam
 Republic of South Vietnam (Liberation đồng)
 Vietnam (Liberation đồng, until 1978)
Issuance
Central bankNational Bank of Vietnam
This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete.

First đồng, 1953 to 1975

History

In 1953, the Vietnam branch of the Institut d'Émission des États du Cambodge, du Laos et du Viet-nam issued notes dual denominated in piastre and đồng. At the same time, the two other branches of the Bank made similar issues with the riel in Cambodia and the kip in Laos. The đồng circulated in those parts of Vietnam not under the control of the Communist forces, which by 1954 coincided with South Vietnam. Coins denominated in su were also introduced in 1953. In 1955, an independent issue of đồng banknotes was produced by the National Bank of Vietnam.

A South Vietnamese 1 đồng Coin from 1964

Coins

In 1953, 10, 20 and 50 su coins were introduced. In 1960, 1 đồng were added, followed by 10 đồng in 1964, 5 đồng in 1966 and 20 đồng in 1968. 50 đồng were minted dated 1975 but they were never shipped to Vietnam due to the fall of the South Vietnamese government. It is reported that all but a few examples were "disposed of as scrap metal"[2] and the coin is very rare.

The coins issued can be roughly classified into five series:

First series
ObverseReverseValueDiameterCompositionObverseReverseMinted Year
10 su23 mmAluminiumThree women, "Quốc gia Việt Nam" (State of Vietnam)Rice plant, "Việt Nam"1953
20 su27 mm
50 xu31 mmTwo dragons, "Việt Nam"
Second series
ObverseReverseValueDiameterCompositionObverseReverseMinted Year
50 su31 mmAluminiumNgo Dinh Diem, "Việt Nam Cộng Hòa" (Republic of Vietnam)Bamboo1960
1 đồng23 mmCupronickel
Third series
ObverseReverseValueDiameterCompositionObverseReverseMinted Year
50 xu30 mmAluminiumNgo Dinh Diem, "Việt Nam Cộng Hòa" (Republic of Vietnam)Bamboo1963
1 đồng23 mmCupronickel"Việt Nam Cộng Hòa", valueRice plant1964
5 đồng25 mm (longest)
Scalloped shape
Rice plant, "Ngân Hàng Quốc gia Việt Nam" (National Bank of Vietnam)1966
10 đồng26 mmRice plant1964
Fourth series
ObverseReverseValueDiameterCompositionObverseReverseMinted Year
1 đồng23 mmNickel-plated steel"Việt Nam Cộng Hòa", valueRice plant1971
5 đồng25 mm (longest)
Scalloped shape
Rice plant, "Ngân Hàng Quốc gia Việt Nam" (National Bank of Vietnam)
10 đồng26 mmRice plant1968, 70
20 đồng30 mm (longest)
Dodecagon
Farmer, "Ngân Hàng Quốc gia Việt Nam"1968
Fifth (F.A.O.) series
ObverseReverseValueDiameterCompositionObverseReverseMinted Year
1 đồng23 mmAluminium"Việt Nam Cộng Hòa", valueRice plant, Programme slogan1971
10 đồng26 mmBrass-plated steelState title and bank title, valueFarmers, Programme slogan1974
20 đồng30 mm (longest)
Dodecagon
Nickel-plated steel"Việt Nam Cộng Hòa", valueFarmer, Programme slogan1968
50 đồng25 mmState title and bank title, valueFarmers, Programme slogan1975

Banknotes

5 đồng banknote issued in 1966.
500 đồng banknote issued in 1966.
50 đồng banknote issued in 1972.

In 1953, notes (dated 1952) were introduced by the Institut d'Emission des Etats du Cambodge, du Laos et du Vietnam in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 100 and 200 đồng. On 22 September 1955, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs announced that notes from the Bank of Indochina and the Institut d’Emission issues for Cambodia and Laos would be exchanged for Institut d’Emission issues for Vietnam starting 30 September until 7 November. The Institut issues for Cambodia and Laos ceased to be legal tender on 7 October, and all Bank of Indochina notes lost their legal tender status on 31 October following the 15 October introduction of the first notes from the National Bank of Vietnam.[3] Subsequently, the Ngân-Hàng Quốc-Gia Việt-Nam (National Bank of Vietnam) took over the issuance of paper money, introducing 2 and 500 đồng notes in 1955 and 20 and 50 đồng in 1956. Between 1964 and 1968, notes below 50 đồng were replaced by coins. In 1971, 1000 đồng notes were introduced. Due to steady inflation, 5000 and 10000 đồng notes were printed in 1975 but not issued due to the fall of Saigon.

Because counterfeit banknotes were a major issue at the time, all South Vietnamese banknotes were printed with a warning stating that counterfeiters were to be punished by penal labour.

DatesDenominations
1952–19531, 5, 10, 100, 200 đồng
1955–19581, 5, 10, 20, 100, 200, 500 đồng
1955–19621, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 200 đồng
1962–19661, 20, 50, 100, 500 đồng
1966100, 200, 500 đồng
1969–197120, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 đồng
197250, 100, 200, 500, 1000 đồng
1975 (not issued)1000, 5000, 10000 đồng

Second đồng, 1975 to 1978

Following the defeat of South Vietnam by North Vietnamese forces, the first đồng was replaced by a new currency, known as the "liberation đồng", at a rate of 1 liberation đồng = 500 first đồng on September 22, 1975. The liberation đồng circulated until May 2, 1978, when the two Vietnamese currencies merged and the liberation đồng was replaced by the new Vietnamese đồng at a rate of 1 new đồng = 0.8 liberation đồng.

Coins

Coins were issued in denominations of 1, 2 and 5 xu. All were holed coins struck in aluminium and were issued in the name of the Ngân-Hàng Việt-Nam (Bank of Vietnam). The 2 xu coin was dated 1975. The 1 and 5 xu were not dated but Krause & Mishler date them to 1976.

Banknotes

The Ngân-Hàng Việt-Nam (Bank of Vietnam) issued notes in denominations of 10, 20 and 50 xu, 1, 2, 5, 10 and 50 đồng. The notes were dated 1966.

See also

References

  1. http://art-hanoi.com/collection/vncoins/1975.html Art-Hanoi.com issue for South Vietnam. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
  2. Krause, Chester L.; Clifford Mishler (1991). Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1801–1991 (18th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873411501.
  3. Linzmayer, Owen (2012). "South Vietnam". The Banknote Book. San Francisco, CA: www.BanknoteNews.com.
South Vietnamese đồng
Preceded by:
French Indochinese piastre
Location: French Indochina
Reason: independence
Ratio: at par
Note: piastre not used in self-declared North Vietnam since 1946
Currency of South Vietnam
1953 1975
Note: transitional notes dual denominated in piastre and đồng were used until 1955
Succeeded by:
Liberation đồng
Reason: capture of Saigon
Ratio: 1 liberation đồng = 500 South đồng
Liberation đồng
Preceded by:
South Vietnamese đồng
Reason: capture of Saigon
Ratio: 1 liberation đồng = 500 South đồng
Currency of South Vietnam
1975 1978
Succeeded by:
Vietnamese đồng
Location: Vietnam
Reason: currency unification
Ratio: 1 new đồng = 0.8 liberation đồng
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