Looking for the gold coins Uncle Ho gave to important people

According to the late Minister of Justice Vu Dinh Hoe, those gold coins were minted from gold that the people contributed to the Revolutionary Government during the Golden Week of 1945, so they are even more valuable and need to be preserved in the museum for the people to admire.

Representatives of 4 generations in the family of the late Minister Vu Dinh Hoe attended the ceremony to present a gold coin to the Ho Chi Minh Museum - Photo: TRAN DINH

From the records and memoirs of some important figures from the time of the resistance war against France, it can be seen that these were gold coins, printed by the Central Party Committee and President Ho Chi Minh in 1948 in the Viet Bac resistance zone, to affirm the financial position of an independent Vietnam.

No 10 and 50 Vietnamese dongs have been found yet, only two 20 Vietnamese dongs donated by Minister of Justice Vu Dinh Hoe and President of the Vietnam Women's Union Nguyen Thi Thap to the Ho Chi Minh Museum in Hanoi and the Southern Women's Museum in Ho Chi Minh City.

The journey to discover the "origin" of these two gold coins and the story of the gold coin minting in the Viet Bac resistance zone, who designed the coins... is an interesting journey.

The 20 Vietnam dong gold coin of the late Minister Vu Dinh Hoe was photographed by artist Tran Dinh before the family donated it to the Ho Chi Minh Museum - Photo by TRAN DINH

That money is minted from the people's gold.

It has been nearly 20 years since Mr. Vu The Khoi - the eldest son of the late Minister of Justice Vu Dinh Hoe, learned about the gold coin that his father treasured as a treasure all his life, and more than 10 years after fulfilling his father's last wish, donating the coin to the Ho Chi Minh Museum, Mr. Khoi still clearly remembers his father's advice: to put it in the museum so that people can admire it.

Mr. Khoi said that although he was the eldest son of Mr. Vu Dinh Hoe and was very loved by him, it was not until 2006 that he first learned about the minister's gold coin when his parents decided to move to the South to live and retire.

Before his parents left, Mr. Khoi was given a gold coin because his father was worried about carrying it on a long journey. One day in 2011, Mr. Khoi received a phone call from his father, calling him to the South urgently, with the message: "Dad, your time is very short. I'm leaving everything here."

In Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Khoi helped his father complete several articles about his close friends. Another important task was to receive his father's deposit of gold coins.

On his deathbed, Mr. Vu Dinh Hoe told his son: the gold coin was cast from gold donated by the people to Uncle Ho's Government during the Golden Week, so it must be seen by all the people. Please donate it to the Ho Chi Minh Museum in Hanoi.

Mrs. Nguyen Thi Truong - wife of the late Minister Vu Dinh Hoe handed over a box containing gold coins to the then Director of the Ho Chi Minh Museum - Photo: TRAN DINH

In 2012, a year after Mr. Vu Dinh Hoe passed away, his wife, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Truong, went to Hanoi with her son to carry out her husband's last wish. She donated the gold coin to the Ho Chi Minh Museum.

"In my father's life, there were two souvenirs that were gifts from Uncle Ho, which he cherished and kept until the end of his life: a gold coin and a Swiss Movado watch with Uncle Ho's image printed on it, a gift that Uncle Ho gave my father in 1957. Both of these souvenirs were donated by my father to the Ho Chi Minh Museum in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City," said Mr. Khoi.

During her lifetime, the wife of the late Minister Vu Dinh Hoe told the story of her husband keeping a gold coin when his family donated it to the Ho Chi Minh Museum. The story was recorded by Mr. Hoa Dinh Nghia - a researcher at the Ho Chi Minh Museum.

Mrs. Truong said her husband was the Minister of Justice at that time. Uncle Ho gave each minister one dong.

"Mr. Nguyen Chi Thanh got one coin, Mr. Vo Nguyen Giap got one coin, my family got one coin, Mr. Do Dinh Thien got one coin, and Mr. Phan Anh got one coin... One day, my family came home and said that Uncle Ho gave them a gold coin and showed it to me," said Ms. Truong.

She added that her family had a brother-in-law who was a big businessman in Saigon, who owned many ships and boats, and transported them to many countries. He knew the value of money and advised his brother-in-law to sell it, as it would be worth a lot. At that time, Mr. Vu Dinh Hoe had many children, so his life was very poor. But he was determined not to touch the gold coin, which he considered a priceless treasure.

The second gold coin found so far is the 20 Viet gold coin that Uncle Ho gave to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thap, currently kept at the Southern Women's Museum in Ho Chi Minh City.

Ms. Pham Thi Dieu - Deputy Director of the Southern Women's Museum, said that this is a gold coin that Uncle Ho gave to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thap when she attended the 4th Congress of the International Democratic Women's Federation in Vienna, Austria, in 1958. Ms. Thap was then the President of the Vietnam Women's Union and Vice President of the National Assembly.

In 1985, Ms. Thap donated a gold coin to the Southern Women's Museum, which at that time was still called the Southern Women's Traditional House.

"Aunt Thap is one of the 12 members of the Southern Women's History Group, who founded the Southern Women's Traditional House. As soon as the traditional house opened to welcome guests in 1985, she returned the gold coin that Uncle Ho gave her years ago to the traditional house," said Ms. Dieu.

Recalling this story, Ms. Le Ngoc Thu - daughter of Ms. Nguyen Thi Thap, said that in 1958, her mother went to a conference abroad. At that time, the dollar reserves in our country were still low, each official going abroad only brought a small amount of money.

Before Mrs. Thap left, Uncle Ho gave her a 20 Vietnamese gold coin (about 2 taels of gold). He told her to save it for when there was an emergency.

On that trip, Mrs. Thap did not have to use any gold coins. Even in the years that followed, Mrs. Thap never thought about spending that priceless coin.

In her last years, she donated many valuable souvenirs from her glorious revolutionary life to the Southern Women's Museum, including a 20 Viet gold coin.

One side of the gold coin donated by Ms. Nguyen Thi Thap to the Southern Women's Museum: Photo: Southern Women's Museum

One side of the gold coin donated by Ms. Nguyen Thi Thap to the Southern Women's Museum: Photo: Southern Women's Museum

Gold Coin Diary

This is not an easy question to answer because this currency was not put into circulation and was not recorded in the book History of Vietnamese Currency (Hong Duc Publishing House, 2021) compiled by the State Bank.

No official history books have been found about this. However, Mr. Hoa Dinh Nghia, in the process of researching gold coins, found some information in the memoirs of relevant people at that time, especially the Diary of a Minister by Mr. Le Van Hien, who held the position of Minister of Finance in the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam during the period when gold coins were issued.

He was the one who, together with President Ho Chi Minh, signed Decree No. 199/SL dated July 8, 1948 on the issuance of Vietnamese gold coins.

According to Mr. Hoa Dinh Nghia's research, in Mr. Hien's "diary" there are several mentions of the issuance of this coin, from the time the design was approved to the minting of the coin at the newly established mint in Khuech, Uncle Ho giving it to the Southern delegates and bringing it abroad to give to international delegates...

Regarding this gold coin, Mr. Vu Dinh Hoe also wrote a few lines in his memoir: "In 1950 or 1951, our State established the National Bank and issued paper money, guaranteed by the gold standard. President Ho gave each minister a gold Dong, symbolizing the financial independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam."

In his diary on January 28, 1948, Mr. Hien recorded the conclusion of the Conference in Tuyen Quang, which included the content of "establishing Vietnamese gold coins with Vietnamese names".

On March 19, 1948, there was a notice "the mint was rebuilt to stamp aluminum and Vietnamese coins".

One day later, Mr. Hien's diary wrote: "Nguyen Van Danh, director of the Mint, together with Ngoc, an expert in minting money, brought a sample of "Viet" copper coins today, and together with these brothers, studied the value of Vietnamese coins.

According to the drawing style and the determined shape, the amount of gold is about 7g, which means more than 2 chi. Therefore, the value of this coin is determined to be 20 Viet, which means 1 Viet is about 0.335g, exactly 1 phan ta...".

On March 29, 1948, he "approved the model and collected the gold "Viet" coins". Three months later, on June 26, 1948, he "took a boat down to Khuech to visit the mint". The diary said that although it was not yet complete, within a month he could start producing "Viet" coins.

On July 8, 1948, the decree on Vietnamese Dong was issued.

In his diary on September 13, 1948, Mr. Hien showed that he had cast the first coins, which were not perfect and needed to be edited, but because they were "gold coins, the first currency of Vietnam, it was pleasing to the eye". He "ordered them to be repaired to be beautiful and then presented to the Government".

The diary page on October 10, 1948 recorded that Mr. Hien promoted the printing of 20 Vietnamese gold coins to give to delegates from the South.

On November 20, 1948, Mr. Hien received from the Mint a box of 500 20 Vietnamese gold coins. "The technique is not perfect. The photos are not very good. However, this coin will stimulate the desire of many people. It will have a great impact on their spirit. President Ho will reserve some for the people of the South...".

On December 10, 1948, Mr. Hien "sent 10 gold coins of 20 Vietnamese dong for Uncle Ho (Uncle Ho - PV) to give to the Southern delegates and sent some to the Southern delegates". On November 6, 1949, the Government "set the Vietnamese dong at 375 mg of gold to separate from the French silver coins, and at the same time confirmed our sovereignty".

On December 27 and 29, 1949, the Mint sent back 200 20 Viet gold coins. Mr. Hien "picked a nice number and sent it to President Ho to give out". This time the gold coins were much more. This time, 50 20 Viet gold coins were "given to foreign dignitaries by President Ho Chi Minh, our first gold coin to symbolize an independent monetary system"...

Thus, Mr. Le Van Hien's diary shows that gold coins were issued in 1948, with denominations of 50 Viet Nam and 10 Viet Nam, in addition to the denomination of 20 Viet Nam.

The 20 Viet Nam currency was presented by Uncle Ho to both Southern and foreign delegates.

The diary until 1949 did not mention Uncle Ho giving gifts to the ministers. Mr. Vu Dinh Hoe's memoir also recorded that he was given gold coins along with other ministers around 1950-1951.

President Ho Chi Minh and members of the Provisional Government Council of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam were introduced after the first meeting on the morning of September 3, 1945, in which Mr. Vu Dinh Hoe stood next to Uncle Ho's right hand - Photo: VNA

Mr. Hoang Nhu Ngoc designed gold coins?

Mr. Hien's diary does not directly mention who designed this gold coin. But his diary entry dated March 20, 1948 states: "Nguyen Van Danh, director of the Mint, together with Ngoc, an expert in minting coins, today brought the "Viet" coin sample to...".

It can be assumed that the person named Ngoc, introduced as a "coin minting expert", along with the Mint director who brought the Vietnamese bronze model, was the one who designed the Vietnamese bronze model.

So who is this Mr. Ngoc? The memoir of Mr. Biet Lam Tran Huy Ba - former director of the Vietnam National Museum of History, said that Mr. Hoang Nhu Ngoc, alias Tien Xuong, on Hang Bac Street, was the one who designed the 5-hao and 1-dong aluminum coins for the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1946, with the design approved by Mr. Pham Van Dong.

This 1 Dong coin has a tilted image of Uncle Ho on one side, with the 6 words "Democratic Republic of Vietnam" around the image. Under the image of Uncle Ho is a small letter "H. Ngoc" engraved. On the back is a picture of a rice flower with the words 1 Dong, and under the bundle of rice is the word 1946.

"This coin was made by Mr. Ngoc alone, so his name is written at the bottom," Mr. Tran Huy Ba wrote in his memoir.

Notably, the image of Uncle Ho on this coin is very similar to the image of Uncle Ho on Vietnamese gold coins.

According to Mr. Hoa Dinh Nghia's records, Mr. Tran Tien - former head of the money design department, State Bank of Vietnam - said that in the early revolutionary period, we had a money stamping machine left by the French. The only worker capable of engraving money was Mr. Hoang Nhu Ngoc, who stamped coins during the French period.

Mr. Ngoc was invited by the Minister of Finance Pham Van Dong (in 1946) to engrave coins of denominations of 5 hao; 1 dong; 2 dong. Therefore, Mr. Tien believes that in the period 1946-1948, only Mr. Hoang Nhu Ngoc had the expertise to undertake the design and creation of molds to cast these gold coins.

"The form, symbol, and engraving are in line with the style of the aluminum metal coins that Mr. Ngoc made before.

Therefore, I confirm that this 20 Viet gold coin was produced in late 1948 or early 1949 and Mr. Hoang Nhu Ngoc was responsible for the design, molding and machine stamping," said Mr. Tien.

Combined with the name "Ngoc" mentioned by Mr. Le Van Hien in his memoir, many people will agree with Mr. Tran Tien's reasoning.

The coin was not a perfect design, but it had great significance in affirming the independence of our country at that time. So the designer of that coin also engraved his name in history.

Some recent documents show that there is a 20 Viet gold coin currently kept at the Vietnam Military History Museum, donated by the late Minister of National Defense Phan Anh, who was also a close friend of Mr. Vu Dinh Hoe.

However, we contacted both the Vietnam Military History Museum and the family of the late Minister Phan Anh and they both said there was no donation of that coin to the museum.

The coins are cast in pure gold, with denominations of 50 Viet, 20 Viet, 10 Viet, each Viet is equivalent to 1 phan of gold (1/10 of a chi). One side has a picture of Uncle Ho with the words "President Ho Chi Minh", the other side has a picture of two crossed bundles of rice, two gold stars, the words "Democratic Republic of Vietnam", "20 Viet"...

It is called gold standard currency because at that time the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam printed paper money, and needed gold coins of equivalent amount to guarantee.

These coins were given to Southern delegates, ministers in the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and used as gifts during President Ho Chi Minh's diplomatic trip to China and the Soviet Union (January 1950).

THUY HUONG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/di-tim-nhung-dong-tien-vang-bac-ho-tang-cac-yeu-nhan-20250826140324294.htm