Democratic Republic of Vietnam banknotes

Democratic Republic of Vietnam banknotes comprise the paper currency issued by the northern Vietnamese state following the August Revolution of 1945. As the newly established government sought to exercise a monetary system independent from French colonial rule, the Viet Minh administration introduced its own currency, the đồng, in 1946 to replace the French Indochinese piastre at par. These early wartime issues began the transition towards an autonomous national currency.

The institutional framework for issuing currency developed over subsequent decades. On 6 May 1951, President Hồ Chí Minh signed decree 15/SL to establish the Vietnam National Bank (Ngân hàng Quốc gia Việt Nam). Two currency revaluations took place in North Vietnam during this era: the first occurred in 1951 at an exchange rate of 100 to 1, followed by a second revaluation in 1959 at a rate of 1,000 to 1. On 21 January 1960, the governor of the bank signed an ordinance on behalf of the prime minister to rename the institution the State Bank of Vietnam (Ngân hàng Nhà nước Việt Nam). Northern currency remained in circulation until after national reunification, being replaced when the đồng was unified on 3 May 1978 at a rate of one new đồng to one Northern đồng.

The currency unit, the đồng, was historically subdivided into ten hào, which were further divided into ten xu. The paper issues spanned multiple eras, extending from early wartime production through the subsequent national bank series. Physical notes can be differentiated across their production history by the distinct names of the issuing authorities, which mark the structural transitions from the initial wartime administration to the Vietnam National Bank and ultimately the State Bank of Vietnam.