Coins in South and North Vietnam 1954–1975
1945 20 Xu
1946 5 Hao
1946 5 Hao (2)
1946 1 Dong
1946 2 Dong
By Tran Thi Thu Thao | May 29, 2022
Overview
There are seven periods of coins in Vietnam, collected by Ha Noi Arts - a commercial website where that collects and sells coins, which are (1) First issue 1945–1946, (2) South Vietnam
1953–1975 , (3)1958 issue, (4) 1975 provisional issue,(5) 1976 issue, (6) Commemorative (7) 2003 issue.
The coins during the period of the South Vietnam from 1953 to 1975 are different from other periods in the characteristic of the reverse. All the coins in this period bear different symbols associated with Vietnamese culture or society such as rice, farmer, or bamboo. In this study, I will seek to explore the message through the coins of Vietnam from 1953 to 1975, using the coins South Vietnam.
Comparing the coins in Vietnam from 1945 to 1946. In 1945, the low denomination money from 1945 to 1946 was 20 xu, 5 hao have the date and characteristic in the obverse side while the reverse has the denomination symbol. However, the coin that has higher domination such as 1 dong or 2 dongs have the portrait of Ho Chi Minh on the observe with different characteristics on the reverse side. These coins have the same signal word ''Vietnam Dan chu cong hoa''.
Coins have many similar characteristics, which are:
First, the coin is durable and rather expensive to produce. Usually, the material used to make coins is an alloy of different metals. These materials are usually heated and made impact resistant so that a coin can last longer than banknotes which are usually made of special paper. In addition, because the coin is made of metal, the cost to produce a coin is often more expensive than banknotes (Abrams 1995). The larger the coins, the higher the production costs, because usually the size will increase with the denomination, and more meticulousness is also required (Unser 2022).
Second, coins are only used for small change and are hard to counterfeit. In addition, because they are made of metal and are relatively small (compared to banknotes), coins are often more difficult to store and handle than banknotes. These factors make coins being produced only for small value in order to create stability in the market instead of applied to large values such as banknotes. In the North the largest coin was 2 dong, in the South, the largest coin was 50 dong.
Third, using coins is only effective when the economic situation is stable because the coin is low-value money, when the economic situation is unstable, or there is inflation, the coin often suffers a loss due to the high production costs and the depreciation of the currency.
Last but not least, coins are good means for conveying messages, besides the above-mentioned “adverse” factors, particularly for three reasons: (1) The value is small but the circulation of the coin is very dynamic, so the message can circulate among a large group of people; (2) the coin is durable; (3) the coin has a small size, so when used, the message is condensed to one or a few images, hence easy to remember for all target groups.
Comparison of coins in South and North Vietnam
South Vietnam
French Union issue for Vietnam 1953. During this time, the coins have the main characteristic of three women, the date on the obverse and rice plan, and the denomination on the other side. According to an article from William S. Turley (1972), this imagery plays an important role in propagating social relationships and values (Turley 1972). Another source from UNI Museum (South Vietnam | UNI Museum @ Rod Library n.d.) states that the three women represent three different women who came from three regions of Vietnam. From left to right, the first woman represents South Vietnam, the second Middle Vietnam (Hue), and the third is from North Vietnam. On the other side, there is a rice plan which can be closely related to the important rice economy of Vietnam during the war period after the Second World War. The rice production in Vietnam had been affected for many reasons at that time (Ward 1977), hence the government put the image of rice plant into the coins. It can help them inspire people to keep continue to produce and plant rice in order to maintain the economy during the war times.
In 1960, the coins in South Vietnam changed to the portrait of President Ngo Dinh Diem on the obverse. At that time, the Viet Cong became a serious threat to the United States and the Government of South Vietnam (1960 in the Vietnam War n.d.). Coins were considered a popular currency exchange at this time, and printing images on money was a way to announce and confirm the legitimacy of individuals operating the state. An international e-commerce website has mad a brief analysis of the bamboo characteristic on the reserve of Vietnam coins during 1960. It clarifies that bamboo holds an important role in Vietnamese culture and it symbolizes Vovinam’s, a martial arts', spirit which is a combination of hard and soft. It is also related to the proverb ‘’Tre già, măng mọc’’, which means that Vietnam will never be annihilated and keep continue growing by the next generations, the Vietnam nation’s values also are maintained and developed as its traditional villages related to the image of a Vietnamese village by thick bamboo hedges (1963 Vietnam 50 Xu Coin Pendant Vietnamese Bamboo Plants Hanoi n.d.).
Coins from 1964 to 1970. Since 1964, the coin no longer bears the portrait of President Ngo Bao Dai but he was replaced by the denomination and the name of the country (1 ĐồNg - South Vietnam – Numista n.d.). During this time, the Viet Cong (VC) communist guerrillas expanded their operations and defeated the South Vietnamese Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) in many battles (Wikipedia n.d.). The attack of the VC gradually toppled the current Ngo Dinh Diem government, so the images of Ngo Dinh Diem began to lose their legitimacy and completely disappeared from all coins after 1964.
Coin after 1968. The coins after 1968 have changed the reverse with farmers working in paddy fields instead of the rice plants, and the observe has the same design with legend around value with a wreath (20 ĐồNg - FAO - South Vietnam – Numista n.d.). According to an article from 1971, in 1968, Vietnam experienced a decrease in food production so the government carried out several policies and narratives to inspire the Vietnamese farmers to grow their rice plants (Logan 1971). Hence, the appearance of farmers on coins as part of the strategy of calling for, and promoting, rice production as a kind of priority economic activity at that time.
North Vietnam
The analysis of coins in North Vietnam can be divided into two periods from 1946 to 1958 and 1959 to 1975, equivalent to two currency reforms.
From 1946 to 1958. Coins during this period were relatively rudimentary in production with a mostly round shape and metal quality of aluminium or bronze, the latter in some large denominations. Similar to the analysis of South Vietnam coins, these coins were only available in a small number of denominations, specifically in this period the denominations were 5 hao (1/100 dong), 20 cents, 1 dong, and 2 dong. At this stage, because the state was just established, the symbols of the state were mentioned mainly on the coins. For example, the pentagram was originally the flag of the Viet Minh front and was later used as the national flag (Việt Minh n.d.). Another example is the 1 dong of 1946, an image of Uncle Ho and a bunch of rice showing agricultural production. Noteworthy, there was a 5 hao coin bearing a very strange shape of an incense burner.
From 1959 to 1975. The issue quality of copper coins in this period has improved markedly compared to the previous period. During this period, the money in the North suffered from terrible inflation, and the currency depreciated. The government conducted a currency reform with an exchange rate of 1:1000. In such a difficult financial situation, the state prioritized paper money. In addition, because the exchange rate was 1:1000, the denomination value was also reduced. As with banknotes, 1000, 500, and 200 coins were all withdrawn, the largest coin still in circulation was 100 dong.
References:
Art-hanoi.com. 2022. "Coins of Vietnam". art-hanoi.com (8 June 2022).
Coinnews.net. 2022. "Penny Costs 2.1 Cents to Make in 2021". CoinNews (8 June 2022).
En.wikipedia.org. n.d. "1964 in the Vietnam War" (8 June 2022).
Logan, W., 1971. How Deep is the Green Revolution in South Vietnam? The Story of the Agricultural Turn-Around in South Vietnam. Asian Survey 11, no. 4, 321-30.
Museum.library.uni.edu. 2022. "UNIM1988.11.304F". museum.library.uni.edu (8 June 2022).
Turley, W. 1972. Women in the Communist Revolution in Vietnam. Asian Survey 12, no. 9, 793-805.
Vi.wikipedia.org. 2022. "Việt Minh" (8 June 2022).
Ward, I. A. 1977. "Rice Economy and Rice Policy in South Vietnam up to 1974." Japanese Journal of Southeast Asian Studies vol. 15, no. 3, 263–294.