Time Period: 1945-1951

Currency: 1st North Vietnamese Dong


Timeline

  • 01.12.1945
  • Decree [No. 76/TC] of the ministry of finance on the issuance of base metal coins of 2, 1, 0.5, 0.2 Dong; effective immediately
  • 31.01.1946
  • Presidential decree [No. 18/B] on the paper money issuance for the "Southern District (from the 16th parallel onward)" by the ministry of finance; effective immediately
  • 13.08.1946
  • Presidential decree [No. 154] on the paper money issuance for the "Northern District (from the 16th parallel onward)" by the ministry of finance; effective immediately
  • 08.07.1948
  • Presidential decree [No. 199/SL] on the issuance og gold coins in unit "Viet" at 0.375 grams fine gold; effective immediately
    - Trial strikes of 50, 20, 10 Viet have been produced, but the lack of gold reserves prohibited a mass production and circulation.

Valuation Regimes

  • 1946-1951
  • Variable rate, nominally on par with the Indochinese Piastre.

Rate Arrangements

  • 01.12.1945
  • Variable
  • initially: Indochinese Piastre at 1 : 1
  • -


Time Period: 1951-1959

Currency: 2nd North Vietnamese Dong


Timeline

  • 06.05.1951
  • Presidential decree [No. 15/SL] on the establishment of the National Bank of (North) Vietnam; effective immediately.
    - 25.05.1952: residential decree [No. 92/SL], revised and extended the 1951 decree; effective immediately.
  • 08.05.1951
  • Presidential decree [No. 19/SL] on the issuance of paper money of 50, 20 Dong by the National Bank; effective immediately.
    - 12.05.1951: Presidential decree [No. 20/SL], continued the legal tender status of the notes of the ministry of finance at a rate of 1 : 10; effective immediately.
  • 20.05.1953
  • Presidential decree [No. 162/SL] on the sole legal tender status of the National Bank notes (demonetizing the notes of the ministry of finance); effective 01.06.1953.
    - Note: The notes of the ministry of finance may have been tolerated at 1% of the nominal value afterwards (no clear sources for this).

Valuation Regimes

  • 1951-1956
  • Variable rate (in 1954, the Indochinese Piastre was supposedly rated at 32 North Vietnamese Dong)
  • 1956-1959
  • Fixed rate against Chinese Yuan (1955)

Rate Arrangements

  • 08.05.1951
  • Variable
  • -
  • -
  • 15.12.1956
  • Fixed
  • Chinese Yuan (1955) at 1 : 1'460 (?)
  • -


Time Period: 1959-1978

Currency: 3rd North Vietnamese Dong


Timeline

  • 27.02.1959
  • Presidential decree [No. 15/SL] on the currency redenomination and issuance new banknotes and coins ba the National Bank; effective immediately.
    - 27.02.1959: Law [No. 95-TTg] on the implementation of the decree and the exchange modalities; effective immediately.
    - 28.02.1959: National Bank Ordinance [No. 27-VP/NGĐ] on the banknote and coin specifications; effective immediately.
  • 28.02.1959
  • Start of currency exchange:
    - 28.02.1959: Start of issuance of the new banknotes and coins
    - Per person, a maximum of 2'000'000 Dong (1951) was exchanged in new notes, excess amounts had to be deposited in bank accounts
    - 02.03.1959: End of exchange period in urban areas, in rural areas the exchange period was 7 days, in remote areas 20 days.
  • 26.10.1961
  • Law [No. 171-CP] on the establishment of the State Bank of Vietnam; effective immediately

Valuation Regimes

  • 1959-1961
  • Fixed rate against Chinese Yuan (1955)
  • 1961-1976
  • Fixed rate against Soviet Ruble (1961)
  • 1976-1978
  • Fixed rate against against IMF Special Drawing Rights (SDR) unit and the South Vietnamese Dong (1975)

Rate Arrangements

  • 28.02.1959
  • Fixed
  • Chinese Yuan (1955) at 1 : 1.46 (?)
  • ±0.0%
  • 01.01.1961
  • Fixed
  • Soviet Ruble (1961) at 1 : 3.27
  • +23.0%
  • ??.09.1976
  • Fixed
  • SDR at 1 : 2.664 - South Vietnamese Dong (1975) at 1 : 1.25
  • +5.4%


End-year Forex Rates (Units per US Dollar)