South Vietnamese đồng

Template:Short description Template:Template other The đồng (銅), also called the piastre, was the currency of South Vietnam from 1953 to 2 May 1978. It was subdivided into 100 xu, also written su.

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.

File:South Vietnam 1 Dong Coin 1964.jpg

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" and the coin is very rare.

The coins issued can be roughly classified into five series:

First series
Obverse	Reverse	Value	Diameter	Composition	Obverse	Reverse	Minted Year
File:10 Su - State of Vietnam (1953) 02.jpg	File:10 Su - State of Vietnam (1953) 01.jpg	10 su	23 mm	Aluminium	Three women, "Quốc gia Việt Nam" (State of Vietnam)	Rice plant, "Việt Nam"	1953
File:20 Su - State of Vietnam (1953) 04.jpg	File:20 Su - State of Vietnam (1953) 03.jpg	20 su	27 mm
File:50 Xu - State of Vietnam (1953) 02.jpg	File:50 Xu - State of Vietnam (1953) 01.jpg	50 xu	31 mm			Two dragons, "Việt Nam"

Second series
Obverse	Reverse	Value	Diameter	Composition	Obverse	Reverse	Minted Year
File:50 Su - South Vietnam (1960) 01.jpg	File:50 Su - South Vietnam (1960) 02.jpg	50 su	31 mm	Aluminium	Ngo Dinh Diem, "Việt Nam Cộng Hòa" (Republic of Vietnam)	Bamboo	1960
File:1 Đồng - South Vietnam (1960) 01.jpg	File:1 Đồng - South Vietnam (1960) 02.jpg	1 đồng	23 mm	Cupronickel

Third series
Obverse	Reverse	Value	Diameter	Composition	Obverse	Reverse	Minted Year
File:50 Xu - South Vietnam (1963) 01.jpg	File:50 Xu - South Vietnam (1963) 02.jpg	50 xu	30 mm	Aluminium	Ngo Dinh Diem, "Việt Nam Cộng Hòa" (Republic of Vietnam)	Bamboo	1963
File:1 Đồng - South Vietnam (1964) 01.jpg	File:1 Đồng - South Vietnam (1964) 02.jpg	1 đồng	23 mm	Cupronickel	"Việt Nam Cộng Hòa", value	Rice plant	1964
File:5 Đồng - South Vietnam (1966) 01.jpg	File:5 Đồng - South Vietnam (1966) 02.jpg	5 đồng	25 mm (longest) Scalloped shape			Rice plant, "Ngân Hàng Quốc gia Việt Nam" (National Bank of Vietnam)	1966
File:South Vietnam 10 Dong, 1964, Observe.jpg	File:South Vietnam 10 Dong, 1964, Reverse.jpg	10 đồng	26 mm			Rice plant	1964

Fourth series
Obverse	Reverse	Value	Diameter	Composition	Obverse	Reverse	Minted Year
		1 đồng	23 mm	Nickel-plated steel	"Việt Nam Cộng Hòa", value	Rice plant	1971
		5 đồng	25 mm (longest) Scalloped shape			Rice plant, "Ngân Hàng Quốc gia Việt Nam" (National Bank of Vietnam)
File:10 Đồng - South Vietnam (1968) 01.jpg	File:10 Đồng - South Vietnam (1968) 02.jpg	10 đồng	26 mm			Rice plant	1968, 70
File:20 Đồng - South Vietnam (1960) 01.jpg	File:20 Đồng - South Vietnam (1960) 02.jpg	20 đồng	30 mm (longest) Dodecagon			Farmer, "Ngân Hàng Quốc gia Việt Nam"	1968

Fifth (F.A.O.) series
Obverse	Reverse	Value	Diameter	Composition	Obverse	Reverse	Minted Year
		1 đồng	23 mm	Aluminium	"Việt Nam Cộng Hòa", value	Rice plant, Programme slogan	1971
		10 đồng	26 mm	Brass-plated steel	State title and bank title, value	Farmers, Programme slogan	1974
File:20 Đồng - South Vietnam (1960) FAO 01.jpg	File:20 Đồng - South Vietnam (1960) FAO 02.jpg	20 đồng	30 mm (longest) Dodecagon	Nickel-plated steel	"Việt Nam Cộng Hòa", value	Farmer, Programme slogan	1968
		50 đồng	25 mm		State title and bank title, value	Farmers, Programme slogan	1975

Banknotes

File:South Vietnam 5 Dong 1955 Averse.jpg

5 đồng banknote issued in 1966.

File:South Vietnam 500 Dong 1966.jpg

500 đồng banknote issued in 1966.

File:50 đồng mặt trước.jpg

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. 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.

Dates	Denominations
1952–1953	1, 5, 10, 100, 200 đồng
1955–1958	1, 5, 10, 20, 100, 200, 500 đồng
1955–1962	1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 200 đồng
1962–1966	1, 20, 50, 100, 500 đồng
1966	100, 200, 500 đồng
1969–1971	20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 đồng
1972	50, 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

• North Vietnamese đồng

External links

• Collection Banknotes of Vietnam and the World
• Art-Hanoi - Coins of South Vietnam
• Art-Hanoi - Paper Money of South Vietnam
• Saigon Black Market Exchange Rates 1955-1975

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