Vietnam is no longer as exotic a country for a modern Russian as it was a few years ago. Today, many have already visited there and have a good idea of what currency is in use in Vietnam.
The national currency of Vietnam is called "dong". In the international foreign exchange market, it is usually denoted by the abbreviation VND.
Currency history
The Vietnamese dong was introduced to the country at the same time it gained independence from France - this event happened in 1947. Until this date, the accepted means of payment on the territory of Vietnam was the Indo-Chinese piaster, which was in circulation not only in this country, but also in other states of the Asian region.
Initially, to ensure the comparability of the value of the new and old currencies, the Vietnamese dong was equated at the exchange rate to the previous monetary unit - the Indochinese piastre. However, subsequently, the unstable economic situation in the country and a number of other problems led to a strong depreciation of the Vietnamese currency.
Vietnamese dong today
As a result, dong is one of the cheapest currency units in the world today. Its approximate rate to the euro is about 29 thousand dongs, to the dollar - about 21 thousand dongs per unit.
From a formal point of view, the country has a division of the national currency into smaller means of payment: for example, one dong consists of 10 hao and 100 sous. However, due to the fact that prices in the country are very high in nominal terms, such means of payment do not currently circulate in the economy.
In general, banknotes in circulation in this country have an unusually large denomination for an unprepared person. So, the smallest monetary unit that can be found in the country is a 100 dong bill. At the same time, the maximum denomination of a bill in circulation at the moment is 500 thousand dongs. Banknotes used in Vietnam are not made from paper, but from thin plastic film, and therefore are very durable. Some denominations of monetary units, for example, 5, 2 and 1 thousand dongs, as well as 500 and 200 dongs, also have counterparts made in the form of a coin. However, they are much less common in the country than bills of the corresponding denomination.
All banknotes in circulation in Vietnam today are equipped with a portrait of the country's greatest politician - Ho Chi Minh, after whom the capital of the state is named. The other side of the banknotes depicts various landmarks that are well known to tourists who have been to Vietnam. For example, among them you can find images of the Temple of Literature located in Hanoi, Halong Bay, the ancient capital of the state of Hue and other significant places.
