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50 Xu - Bảo Đại Piefort Essai
| Issuer | South Vietnam |
|---|---|
| Year | 1953 |
| Type | Coin pattern |
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| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | Two sinuous dragons face each other symmetrically across the central field, their scaled bodies forming elegant mirrored curves flanking the denomination 50 XU. Each dragon's head is positioned at the lower center, facing inward, while their tails curl upward toward stylized floral or solar rosettes in the upper left and right fields. The country name VIỆT NAM is inscribed across the upper portion of the field, and the word ESSAI appears in the lower exergue, identifying this as a trial piece. The entire design is bordered by a decorative beaded rim. |
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| Additional information |
Piéforts are struck at roughly double the normal planchet thickness as presentation or pattern pieces, and this aluminium example from the 1953 Vietnamese monetary reform sits in that category. France was in the final months of its control over Indochina — Điện Biên Phủ fell less than a year later — and the Associated State of Vietnam was establishing its own currency infrastructure under the Banque Nationale du Viêt-Nam, founded that same year.
The aluminium composition of the production coinage itself was a deliberate choice to prevent hoarding, a persistent problem with the preceding piastre series.