Vietnamese currency:

Over many historical periods, the Vietnamese currency has changed many times. In addition to its intrinsic value, the currency is also a vivid reflection of the country's situation through historical periods.

From its appearance until 1945, the minting and issuance of coins was evidence of the country's situation, the rise and fall of dynasties, and of each king.

Vietnamese paper money through the ages. Illustration photo

After the feudal period, in the years 1948-1950, to create small denomination money and use it in war zones, the National Assembly and the Government unanimously issued decrees to issue additional "Vietnamese banknotes" with denominations of 2 hao, 5 hao and 200 dong.

The content printed on Vietnamese banknotes focuses on the theme of production and combat, with familiar images of workers, farmers and national defense troops, and popular idioms such as: "A full stomach makes a strong army", "full stomach makes a strong army", "hammer in one hand, gun in the other", "plow in one hand, gun in the other", "protecting crops", "actively preparing for a counterattack"...

During this period, the image of the national defense army printed on banknotes was called Uncle Ho's army by the people and Vietnamese banknotes were called "Uncle Ho's banknotes" as a way to show respect for the resistance, the Party and Uncle Ho.

The historical milestone for the Vietnamese currency was May 6, 1951, when President Ho Chi Minh signed Decree No. 15/SL establishing the National Bank of Vietnam. The National Bank was assigned the tasks of issuing bank notes, regulating currency circulation, managing the national treasury, managing foreign currency, managing precious metals through administrative regulations and fighting the enemy in currency.

From this point on, the monetary circulation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam changed from a national treasury monetary regime managed by the Ministry of Finance to a credit monetary regime managed by the State Bank of Vietnam.

Financial currency was replaced by bank notes with the currency unit being Dong. The State Bank of Vietnam is the state agency that manages the issuance and organizes the regulation of currency circulation. Two years later, when the issuance of new money was completed and the change from the national treasury currency regime to the credit currency regime, with Decree No. 162/SL (dated May 20, 1953), Vietnamese banknotes were officially named Dong and became the only currency unit used nationwide (except for the South).

Also according to historical records, in the years 1947-1953, the currency struggle between Vietnam and the French colonialists was intense and no less fierce than the fighting in the war zones. During this period, when the French colonialists canceled the 100 Dong Indochinese banknote, the Vietnamese Government flexibly responded with soft solutions, followed by minting "Vietnamese Dong" in real gold with Decree No. 199/SL (July 8, 1948) to enhance the value and prestige of the currency.

In the Central and Southern regions, to limit counterfeiting of Vietnamese currency and to uniformly use legal currencies, the Government applied measures to “Vietnamize” the Indochinese currency by stamping the notes for use and issuing credit notes with values ​​equivalent to revolutionary slogans for propaganda and mass mobilization. During this period, slogans such as: “the whole people unite to fight against foreign invaders”, “actively prepare for a general counterattack”, “patriotic emulation”, “an independent Vietnam, a Ho Chi Minh government”… were popular on the notes and credit notes issued by the Government.

Peace was restored in the North after the Geneva Agreement, and Dong currency in the years 1954-1961 made great strides in printing techniques, color, content and value. Decree No. 171/CP (1961) of the Government of this period also allowed the National Bank to change its name to the State Bank of Vietnam and began to be widely printed on all banknotes of all denominations.

The growth of the Northern economy, along with the stability of value and trust, the Dong currency of this period almost unified the form of printing and issuing all denominations (both paper money and coins) with images of the National Emblem, portrait of President Ho Chi Minh and the content of building the country and landscapes of the North.

Along with the resistance war against the US to save the country, for more than 20 years (1951-1975) since the establishment of the National Bank of Vietnam, the Vietnamese currency has also had a journey of struggle full of glory and challenges.

The National Bank of Vietnam (later the State Bank of Vietnam) exchanged old currency and issued new currency six times. Of which, the September 1975 currency exchange eliminated the currency of the old regime from the economic and social life in the South.

Since July 1976, the banking systems of the two regions of the South and North have been merged into the State Bank system of the unified Vietnam. However, each region still circulates its own currency, each region has its own price level, means of exchange and accounting, causing difficulties and complications for management, economic planning and unified financial management; especially difficulties for regulating currency circulation.

Therefore, on April 1, 1978, the Politburo issued Resolution No. 08/NQ-TW on the issuance of new bank money, the withdrawal of both types of old bank money in both regions of the country, and the unification of domestic currency. On April 25, 1978, the National Assembly and the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam issued a Decision on the unification of currency throughout the country, the issuance of new bank money, and the withdrawal of old bank money in the North and the South.

On the same day, the Government Council issued Decision No. 88/CP regulating the amount of cash that can be exchanged immediately when exchanging money nationwide. The State Bank of Vietnam issued a decision on the issuance of new types of banknotes and coins, which are circulated uniformly throughout the country.

Then, on May 2, 1978, the issuance of new money began, and the old money was withdrawn throughout Vietnam. Since then, the Dong issued by the State Bank of Vietnam officially became the only legal currency in the country.

The most recent issuance of new money was in December 2003 when the State Bank of Vietnam put into circulation a new system of money made of polymer. The new polymer money system has continued to circulate in the market nationwide since then, with many denominations; in which the highest denomination is 500,000 VND.

The unique feature that creates the special cultural value of Vietnamese currency in history is that at any stage, Vietnamese currency always bears the mark of the ingenuity and uniqueness of the craftsmen who crafted it. Along with that, the quintessence and traditional values ​​of Vietnamese culture, historical and cultural relics, famous landscapes of the country, and the rich Vietnamese lifestyle... are always prominently displayed, becoming the highlights that leave a strong impression on the currency.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/dong-tien-viet-nam-vat-chung-sinh-dong-phan-anh-cac-thoi-ky-lich-su-viet-nam-714821.html