100 000 Đồng

Vietnam's 100,000 đồng paper note preceded the polymer series of the same denomination introduced in 2004. The paper version circulated during the late 1990s and early 2000s, a period when Vietnam's economy was still adjusting after the đổi mới reforms had gradually opened the country to foreign investment — by that point the note represented serious purchasing power for most of the population, roughly equivalent to several days' wages in rural areas.

Paper 100,000 đồng notes are notably prone to heavy soiling in circulation. High-denomination notes in Vietnam passed through many hands quickly, and surviving examples in genuinely clean condition are less common than the print runs might suggest.