Catalog
20 Kip
| Issuer | Banque Nationale du Laos |
|---|---|
| Year | 1957-1962 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse bears the Lao national coat of arms with the three-headed Erawan elephant at centre, flanked by Lao script inscriptions. A vignette of the Royal Government Palace appears in the lower portion, set against a fine guilloche underprint. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in red-brown on a guilloche underprint, with the bank title BANQUE NATIONALE DU LAOS across the top. A central vignette portrays a woman at a traditional loom weaving fabric, flanked by ornamental panels bearing the numeral 20 at each corner. The anti-counterfeiting legend LE CONTREFACTEUR SERA PUNI CONFORMÉMENT À LA LOI and the denomination VINGT KIP appear along the lower margin. |
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| Comments |
The Banque Nationale du Laos was established in 1954 following the Geneva Accords, which effectively ended French Indochina and left Laos formally independent but economically fragile. This early series — produced by Security Banknote Company in Philadelphia — reflects the heavy American financial involvement in Laos during the late 1950s, when U.S. aid accounted for the overwhelming majority of the government's operating budget.
SBNC was a relatively minor player in the sovereign banknote printing trade, and Lao notes from this period occasionally show ink register inconsistencies that suggest limited experience with high-security intaglio work at the time of production.