The đồng (/ˈdɒŋ/; Vietnamese: [ɗôŋm]) (sign: ₫; code: VND) has been the currency of Vietnam since May 3, 1978. Issued by the State Bank of Vietnam, it is represented by the symbol "₫". Formerly, it was subdivided into 10 hào, which was further subdivided into 10 xu, neither of which is now used.
Etymology
The word đồng is from the term đồng tiền ("money"), a cognate of the Chinese tóng qián (Traditional Chinese: 銅錢; Simplified Chinese: 铜钱). The term refers to Chinese bronze coins used as currency during the dynastic periods of China and Vietnam. The term hào is a cognate of the Chinese háo (Chinese: 毫), meaning a tenth of a currency unit.
The sign is encoded U+20AB ₫ dong sign (HTML: ₫).
History
North Vietnam
Main article: North Vietnamese đồng
In 1946, the Viet Minh government (later to become the government of North Vietnam) introduced its own currency, the đồng, to replace the French Indochinese 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.
[edit]South Vietnam
Main article: South Vietnamese đồng
Notes dually denominated in piastres and đồng were issued in 1953 for the State of Vietnam, which evolved into South Vietnam in 1954. On September 22, 1975, after the fall of Saigon, the currency in South Vietnam was changed to a "liberation đồng" worth 500 old Southern đồng.
[edit]United Vietnam
After Vietnam was reunified, the đồng was also unified, on May 3, 1978. One new đồng equalled one Northern đồng or 0.8 Southern "liberation" đồng.
On September 14, 1985, the đồng was revalued, with the new đồng worth 10 old đồng. This started a cycle of chronic inflation that continued through much of the early 1990s.[2]
[edit]Coins
First đồng
In 1978, aluminium coins (dated 1976), were introduced in denominations of 1, 2, and 5 hào and 1 đồng. The coins were minted by the Berlin mint in the German Democratic Republic. Due to chronic inflation, no coins circulated for many years.
[edit]Second đồng
[edit]Commemorative Issues
Commemorative coins in copper, brass, copper-nickel, silver, and gold have been emitted since 1986, but none has ever been in circulation.
[edit]2003 Issue
The State Bank of Vietnam resumed issuing coins on December 17, 2003.[3] The new coins, minted by the Mint of Finland, were in denominations of 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, and 5,000 đồng. Earlier, Vietnamese had to exchange banknotes for tokens with a clerk before purchasing goods from vending machines. Many residents expressed excitement at seeing coins reappear after many years, as well as concern for the usefulness of the 200 đồng coins.[4]
