Catalog
50 Đồng
| Issuer | State Bank of Vietnam |
|---|---|
| Year | 1987 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Đồng |
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| Obverse description | An intaglio portrait vignette of President Ho Chi Minh (1890–1969) in three-quarter facing right occupies the right field, set within an oval frame against a radiating guilloche underprint in pink and gold tones. The national coat of arms of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is centred in the upper portion of the note, flanked by the denomination numeral 50 in ornate cartouches at each upper corner. At lower left, a large lathe-work oval medallion carries the numeral 50, with the value in words NĂM MƯƠI ĐỒNG inscribed in bold letterpress below; the date 1985 appears at the lower left margin. |
|---|---|
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
By 1987, Vietnam's economy was in the grip of hyperinflation so severe that the đồng was losing value faster than notes could be printed. This 50 đồng denomination, which had been meaningful currency less than a decade earlier, was already functionally trivial at issue — roughly equivalent to fractions of a U.S. cent on the black market. The Đổi Mới reforms announced that same year began dismantling the centrally planned system, but monetary stabilization lagged badly behind policy.
A redenomination in 1985 had already wiped out zeros; by 1987 that correction had been effectively erased by inflation.