The đồng (VND) is the currency of Vietnam. It is issued by the State Bank of Vietnam. It has the symbol ₫. In the past, it was subdivided into 10 hào. However, the hào is now so worthless that it is no longer issued. Historically, the hào was subdivided into 10 xu.

History

In Vietnamese, đồng literally means copper or bronze. This originates from the practice of minting coins from copper before French colonization. When Vietnam was part of French Indochina, the standard unit of currency was the French Indochinese piastre. The Vietnamese text on these currencies called it đồng or less commonly bạc ("silver"). After the French left, North and South Vietnam each minted its own separate currency, both named đồng.

North Vietnam

The first đồng issued in North Vietnam appeared in 1946 and replaced the piastre at par. Two revaluations followed, in 1951 and 1958. The first was at a rate of 100:1, the second at a rate of 1000:1.

South Vietnam

The first đồng issued in South Vietnam appeared in 1952 and also replaced the piastre at par. On September 2, 1975, after the fall of Saigon, the currency in South Vietnam was changed to the "liberation" đồng worth 500 South Vietnamese đồng.

United Vietnam

After the country was unified, the đồng was also unified on May 3, 1978. The northern đồng could be exchanged for the new đồng at a 1:1 rate, while the southern "liberation" đồng could be exchanged for only 8 hào.

On September 4, 1985, the đồng was further revalued, with the new đồng worth 10 old đồng.

Currency in Circulation

Banknotes exist in denominations of 200₫, 1000₫, 2000₫, 5000₫, 10,000₫, 20,000₫, 50,000₫, 100,000₫, 500,000₫ (around USD31.70), and most recently a new note of value 1,000,000₫, of which little is known. Banknotes of value greater than or equal to 20,000₫ are printed of polymer. New coins of 200₫, 1000₫ and 5000₫ have recently been issued ^* (which exist along with the notes of the same value)

A commemorative 50₫ banknote of polymer was issued in 2001, however, its face value is so minimal it is meant only for collectors.

Other Uses of Đồng

In the Vietnamese language, đồng can be used as a generic term for any currency by adding the country name as a qualifier. This practice is more common for more esoteric units of currency. In some overseas Vietnamese-speaking communities, notably Vietnamese Americans, it is used to denote the local currency (USD) and one must refer to VND as đồng Việt Nam (Vietnamese đồng). Similarly, hào and xu are used to translate U.S. "dime" and "cent" respectively into Vietnamese.

In modern-day Vietnam, because of the value of the currency is so small, one dong could also be understood as one thousand dong.

After the revaluation of the Romanian leu on 1 July 2005, and the revaluation of the Mozambican metical on 1 July 2006, the đồng became the second least valued currency unit.

External links

• Technical properties of Vietnamese currency: from the State Bank of Vietnam

Currency signs

Dong | Đồng | Dong (monnaie) | Dong (munteenheid) | ドン (通貨) | Dong | Вьетнамский донг | Dong (valuta) | Đồng (tiền) | 越南盾