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This is the first time a large-scale collection of Vietnamese currency has been widely showcased, allowing viewers to look back at the country's history through a financial and economic lens, and through each coin reflecting the context of its respective period.
The exhibition presents untold stories about Vietnamese currency throughout history.
The exhibition not only has value in collecting and preserving rare documents but also provides an opportunity for the public to explore the architectural heritage of the State Bank building itself - a typical Indochinese building in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City.
History and architecture of the State Bank of Vietnam
Stepping through the ancient granite gate, visitors can not only admire rare currency artifacts from various periods but also have the opportunity to enter one of the typical Indochinese architectural works of Saigon in the early 20th century.
The main entrance of the State Bank of Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City branch, where the exhibition is taking place.
The Ho Chi Minh City branch of the State Bank of Vietnam, originally the headquarters of the Indochina Bank built between 1929 and 1930, once played a crucial role as a financial center for the colonial government and then the National Bank of Vietnam during the Republic of Vietnam era, before becoming a branch of the State Bank of Vietnam after 1976.
Featuring a unique Indochinese architectural style, the building makes a strong impression with its four large pillars on the facade – massive stone blocks likened to guillotines, symbolizing the authority of the French at the time. Inside, the building once housed the immortal heart of Bodhisattva Thich Quang Duc, making it a space filled with layers of historical memory.
Throughout the facades, railings, and column capitals is a system of motifs reflecting Khmer culture, such as lotus flowers, the Naga serpent deity, and mythical birds, creating a sense of solemnity while showcasing a blend of indigenous art and Western architecture.
Over nearly a century, from a colonial-era financial fortress to the city's monetary authority today, the building has retained its majestic appearance, becoming an important highlight in Saigon's urban heritage system.
The impressive roof architecture inside the building.
Period 1875 - 1955: Indochina Bank banknotes and the imprint of colonialism.
The exhibition's opening space recreates the era of French-issued currency, featuring banknotes with strong propaganda value. Most notably, it depicts a Western woman with her arm around a small Vietnamese man, a visual symbol representing the oppressive power of French colonialism.
The Indochinese banknotes from this period were printed with exquisite detail, incorporating French motifs, Greek deities, interspersed with images of ancient Vietnamese architecture, and representative figures from the three Indochinese countries, such as three young women from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. This group of artifacts most clearly demonstrates how currency became a political, cultural, and economic control tool for France for nearly 80 years.
Banknotes of the Bank of Indochina
Period 1945 - 1954: Financial banknotes and the struggle to protect the value of Vietnamese currency.
This was the period when revolutionary currency first appeared, beginning with Decree 18B (January 31, 1946) allowing the issuance of banknotes in South Central Vietnam. These crudely printed notes, made of poor quality materials, held great spiritual value, all featuring the image of President Ho Chi Minh – a recurring theme in Vietnamese currency from then until now.
To counter the French counterfeiting of currency, we used a watermark printing technique with a gold star and the letters "VN". This method created a hidden image directly on the paper, only becoming visible when the banknote was held up to a light source, making it easy for people at the time to check the authenticity of money during wartime.
The technique of embossing on financial banknotes.
This period also marked the phenomenon of "Ho Chi Minh banknotes," which were so highly valued by the people that they tore them in half and shared them as souvenirs. Some typical examples, such as the 100 dong red banknote, fully embodied the propaganda spirit of the currency during the resistance war. The image of President Ho Chi Minh was placed in the center of the banknote, surrounded by symbolic images such as a farmer plowing a field, a family gathering, a worker, a soldier, and a map of a unified Vietnam. Each image represented a pillar of the nation during the resistance war: labor, production, unity, fighting, and sovereignty, all connected to form a message of a country believing in ultimate victory.
A 50 dong banknote featuring an image of President Ho Chi Minh in the center.
Period 1951 - 1975: National Bank currency and the separation between the two regions.
After the establishment of the National Bank of Vietnam in 1951, bilingual Vietnamese-Chinese banknotes were produced with technical assistance from China. By 1959, the first set of banknotes featuring the Vietnamese national emblem appeared, highly valued by collectors for their aesthetic appeal. Around the same time, South Vietnam issued the Republic of Vietnam currency, which lacked the image of President Ho Chi Minh and was used as a tool for economic and social control. Notably, the exhibition also displays various types of banknotes from the Southern region issued by the resistance forces, including hand-printed 5-dong notes with color discrepancies; various types of promissory notes; and secret hand-drawn sketches.
The sketch of the Vietnamese banknote features entirely hand-drawn lines and includes Chinese characters, thanks to Chinese printing techniques.
In late 1947 and early 1948, when France refused to recognize domestically printed currency, the government allowed people to split large-denomination banknotes into smaller ones, stamp both sides, and print an additional control sheet over them so they could continue to be used. Because the sheet covered the banknotes completely, it was popularly known as "blanket-covered" banknotes. At the same time, the central government sent money to the South, but the French continuously counterfeited it, so each province had to stamp the banknotes with the seal of the Resistance Administrative Committee to verify their authenticity. These banknotes with the added control sheet became "background" banknotes, helping people distinguish genuine Vietnamese currency amidst the chaos of wartime.
Aluminum foil "covered with a blanket"
Aluminum foil "foundation"
This period is known as the "Vietnamization of Indochinese banknotes." This was the most complex period in monetary history, when multiple different monetary systems coexisted within the same country.
Period 1975 - present: The currency of the State Bank of Vietnam and the journey towards reunification.
After 1975, the banking systems of the two regions were merged, but it wasn't until 1978 that Vietnam completely unified its currency nationwide, with all banknotes featuring the portrait of President Ho Chi Minh. During this period, some denominations were particularly rare, such as the 30 dong notes from 1978 and 1985.
In 1985, the State implemented a monetary reform (also known as the 1985 currency exchange) to tighten control over the currency's value and curb inflation, which had been rising sharply at the time. This exchange marked a significant transition before Vietnam issued its cotton banknotes (1985-2003) and, especially, the polymer banknotes launched in 2003.
The 30,000 dong banknote features the national emblem.
International collectors appreciate Vietnamese currency for its striking imagery of territorial sovereignty, with Ha Long Bay appearing six times on various banknotes from different periods. The final section of the exhibition also displays banknotes, stamps, and a collection of coins ranging from aluminum to copper alloys, concluding the nearly 150-year journey of Vietnamese currency from the Indochina era to the modern economy.
Payment checks are no longer accepted.
Supply vouchers circulated in the province during the period 1951 - 1975
The journey of Vietnamese currency, from hand-printed banknotes during wartime to modern polymer banknotes, emerges as a concise snapshot of the nation's history. Leaving the exhibition, viewers can clearly sense that currency is not merely a medium of exchange, but a relic of collective memory, preserving the persistent efforts to safeguard Vietnam's sovereignty and identity through more than a century of upheaval.
The exhibition helps viewers recognize the persistent struggle in the currency war waged by our Party and people.
The "Vietnamese Currency Exhibition - A Journey Through the Flow of National History" will take place from the end of November 2025 to the end of April 2026, open to visitors on Saturdays and Sundays, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM at the State Bank of Vietnam - Branch 2, Ho Chi Minh City. Visitors can register through the bank's official website to receive guided tours of all the exhibition areas.
