South Vietnamese 20 Đồng Banknote

From the Collection: A banknote from the Republic of Vietnam

With the end of French colonial rule in 1953, the Indochinese Piastre was replaced by national currencies within the now independent Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. In Vietnam, the new currency was called the Đồng, and would remain so even under two governments following the State of Vietnam ceding the communist controlled north to become independent as the last French control was cast off. The State of Vietnam was replaced in 1955, as Prime Minister Ngo din Diem ousted former Emperor Bao Dai in a referendum that created the Republic of Vietnam, or RVN.

The term Dong was used due to the simple fact that low denomination coins were minted in bronze, or Đồng in Vietnamese. Over time, the government in Saigon would purposefully inflate the Dong with the intention of stimulating foreign trade, resulting in the exhange value of RVN Dong to US Dollars dropping from $1=Đ35in 1953 to $1=Đ700 by the fall of the Republic in 1975. This inflation caused an increasing collapse of the economy, as whatever foreign investment was offset by rising poverty and unemployment, leading many citizens to the cause of the communists.

The dragon watermark

The 1964 printed example seen here has been lightly circulated, but still has a clear design and good color. The legend “Ngan-Hang Quoc-GiaViet-Nam” is present on both sides of the note, translating to “National Bank of Vietnam”, along with the denomination. A warning against counterfeiting is printed along the bottom of the note.

The obverse of the note bears the signatures of the relevant officials of the National Bank, with a geometic pattern in the center. A white disc is present for the watermark, along with a scroll and a book on the right side. The reverse has intricate water scenes, with a stylized fish in the center.