The second piece in our exotic currency series, comes from Indochina! This bright and colorful currency is a fantastic show piece for any foreign currency collector. Of course, I’m speaking of the Vietnamese Dong. When the currency was first created there were actually two different forms of the Dong; the North Vietnamese Dong, which was a replacement of the French colonial currency of the Piastre and the Southern Dong came after South Vietnam was given its independence and was no longer a French Territory.
The Northern Vietnamese Dong
In 1946, the North Vietnamese government issued the Dong as the replacement for the French Indochinese Piastre. This had both coin denominations and bank notes. The coins were on a cent scale with the xu being 1/100 of a dong and the hao being one tenth. In 1946, the coins were made of aluminum and brass, but changed to all aluminum when the dong was re-issued in 1959. This currency would stay as the currency of North Vietnam until the reunification of Vietnam in the 1970′s.
The Southern Vietnamese Dong
After South Vietnam’s governement fell in 1975 the southern Vietnamese Dong was converted into the northern counterpart to unify the currency. Today, the currency still stands as a collectible currency and is a fantastic exotic currency for any foreign currency collector. However, like the dinar it has also become the vehicle for snake oil “currency exchanges,” and has been used as a scam. Like the Dinar, Great American Coin DOES NOT sell the Dong on a speculation basis, we continue to sell numismatic collectibles for enjoyment and does not condone any use of this currency on a speculation basis.
Unification and the Vietnamese Dong
After South Vietnam’s governement fell in 1975 the southern Vietnamese Dong was converted into the northern counterpart to unify the currency. Today, the currency still stands as a collectible currency and is a fantastic exotic currency for any foreign currency collector. However, like the dinar it has also become the vehicle for snake oil “currency exchanges,” and has been used as a scam. Like the Dinar, Great American Coin DOES NOT sell the Dong on a speculation basis, we continue to sell numismatic collectibles for enjoyment and does not condone any use of this currency on a speculation basis.