Viet Nam was under direct Chinese rule from 111 BC until AD 968 and Chinese coins circulated in present-day Vietnam. After the collapse of the Tang Dynasty, the Vietnamese prince Dinh Bo-linh established himself as an independent ruler and in 970 he issued Vietnam’s first local coinage, imitating Chinese coins. There was little change in Viet Nam’s coins until Viet Nam began casting zinc and silver coinage under Nguyen Anh (1802-20). Silver coins were introduced in response to the opening up of trade and the influx of silver dollars into Viet Nam. Cash type coins continued to be issued until 1933, but in 1879 the French began issuing their first coins for French Indochina and in 1885 the first silver piastres (dollars) were struck.
A national resistance movement drove the Chinese out of Vietnam in 1428. Under the Le dynasty the borders of Vietnam were gradually pushed southward. By 1757, however, the country had been divided into two parts, and it was not reunited until 1802, by the general Nguyen Anh, who became the emperor Gia Long. Viet Nam was created out of three states, Tonkin in the north, Annam in the center, and Cochinchina in the south. Cochinchina was made a French colony on June 5, 1862, and Annam and Tonkin became French protectorates on August 25, 1883.
The Union of Indochina was formed in 1887 and also included Laos and Cambodia. The Japanese occupied Indochina between March 9, 1945 and August 15, 1945. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam proclaimed its independence on September 2, 1945. The Autonomous Republic of Cochinchina was declared on June 1, 1946, and was renamed South Vietnam on October 8, 1947, Vietnam on May 27, 1948, and the State of Viet Nam on June 14, 1949, though it was still a French Protectorate. The division between North and South Vietnam was not formally recognized until the Geneva Accords of July 21, 1954. In the South, the Republic of Viet Nam was established October 26, 1955. The North and South were unified as the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam on July 2, 1976. When Viet Nam was reunited, it took on the codes for South Viet Nam (VN, VNM). Although North Viet Nam had its own ISO alphabetic codes, it had no numeric code since reunification occurred in 1981 before numeric codes were introduced.
The state of Annam used the copper Dong (VNAD) for subsidiary coinage in the 1800s, with 260 Dong equal to 1 Piastre, and 60 Dong equal to 1 Cash String. The Copper Dong was equal to 10 Zinc Dongs. The Gold Lang (VNAL) was equal to 1 Gold Piastre or 14-17 Silver Piastres. The French Indochina Piastre (ICFP) was set equal to the Mexican Silver Dollar (XMSD), which also circulated in French Indochina.
Both coins were made legal tender in French Indochina on April 10, 1862 with 1 Mexican Silver Dollar equal to 5.37 French Francs, though the Franc was little used in practice. Piastre coins were also issued in French Cochinchina and Tonkin.
In 1884, the Piastre de Commerce was introduced, equal in value to the Mexican Trade Dollar (24.4935 grams of silver) or about 5.37 French Francs. On July 8, 1895, Piastre coins of 24.3 grams were introduced and on July 8, 1895, the import of Mexican Trade Dollars was prohibited. Piastre coins were also issued in French Cochinchina and Tonkin. On March 31, 1930, the exchange rate between the French Indochina Piastre and French Franc was fixed at 10 to 1.
The Banque de l’Indochine was established by a decree of January 21, 1875. A branch was established in Phnom Penh, which became the note-issuing bank for all of Indochina from February 22, 1891 to December 31, 1951. During the Second World War, French Indochina (Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam) and Thailand, though occupied by Japanese troops, did not have Japanese occupation currency; rather, they paid a kind of ransom by creating domestic currency and giving it to Japan to pay for local expenses. The Piastre was divisible into 100 Cents.
After the war, France initially revalued the Piastre to equal 17 French Francs, but the Piastre was devalued back to its old level of 10 French Francs on May 11, 1953. On December 31, 1951 the exclusivie privilege of banknote issue was transferred to the Institut d'Émission des États du Cambodge, du Laos et du Viet-Nam, which also had its headquarters in Phnom Penh. Although separate notes were issued for Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, the notes were legal tender in all three states.
The Japanese issued Yen (ICFG) banknotes in 1945, but these were demonetized on November 17, 1945. After the war, the French Indochina Piastre continued to be issued in Viet Nam until July 21, 1954 and were used in the south and in the parts of the north not occupied by the Viet Minh.
The Viet Minh issued their own banknotes in areas they held in Viet Nam. They issued the Viet Minh Piastre Dong Viet (VDP) on November 3, 1946. The New Piastre Dong Viet (VDD) replaced the Viet Minh Piastre Dong Viet in 1953 with 1 New Piastre Dong Viet equal to 100 Piastre Dong Viet. Under this currency reform, all banknotes issued between 1946 and 1951 were withdrawn and demonetized. There is some disagreement as to whether there were two currency reforms in 1951 and 1953, or a single currency reform in 1953 with notes dated 1951.
Banknotes were printed by the Viet Minh in Viet Nam until 1951 when the National Bank of Viet Nam introduced banknotes printed in Shanghai. Banknotes issued during the battle against the French continued to be used after the Viet Minh gained control over North Vietnam. French Indochina Piastres were converted into Viet Nam Dong at the rate of 32 Dongs to the Piastre. Nevertheless, inflation continued, and another currency reform occurred on February 28, 1959 with 1 Dong (VDD) equal to 1000 New Piastre Dong Viet. The State Bank of Vietnam succeeded the Bank of Vietnam in 1964. Officially, the exchange rate during this time was 2.94 Dong = 1 US Dollar, but the rate was nominal only.
South Vietnam introduced its own Dong (VNR) on September 30, 1955 at par with the French Indochina Piastre which ceased to be legal tender on November 7, 1955. The Dong was divisible into 100 Xu, and was issued by the National Bank of Viet Nam, a separate entity from the National Bank of Viet Nam in the North.
On September 22, 1975, after South Vietnam was defeated by the North, the North introduced a National Dong (VNS) for the South with 1 National Dong equal to 500 South Vietnam Dong and 1 South Viet Nam Dong = 1.25 North Viet Nam Dongs. The special currency for the South was eliminated on May 3, 1978 and replaced by the Viet Nam Dong (VNN) at 1 South Viet Nam Dong = 1 Viet Nam Dong. Viet Nam introduced a new Dong (VND) on September 14, 1985 with 1 New Dong equal to 10 Old Dongs. The Dong is divisible into 10 Hao or 100 Xu and is issued by the State Bank of Vietnam. |
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