I got a neat little "Coins of Annam (Vietnam)" collection awhile ago: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/collection-for-coins-of-annam-vietnam.257751/
Yes, we don't get lots of North Vietnam coins here in North America, from what I see. Then again, I don't think that the post-Saigon Socialist Republic of VN really minted lots of circulation coins after the fall of South Vietnam. That is, until recently. That's what a VN coin collector told me two years ago. I mostly see South Vietnam coins at shows where I live. And thanks for your posts, Siberian Man. Hey, I wonder where South Vietnam coins were minted? In Vietnam?
Nice write-up Siberian Man. My oldest daughter just started collecting and her primary interest is Asian coins. She started with Japan, but we have been looking at all of Asia too. We both like coins with lots of detail. From what she has picked up so far, she likes mostly 1900-1950. I collect worldwide from 1800-1900. That is cool because we don't compete, but we often talk about coins that are on the edge 1890-1910. My father was in the Vietnam war and I know he brought some back. I'll have to check and see what he has. Del
Okay, I get it. But the North Vietnamese (I will always see a North/South division) coins are usually so poorly struck that few collectors are attracted to them. French minted coins are attractive, and some of the modern communist coins are okay. As for me I collect very ancient Vietnamese coins (late 1700's to 1907), and coins dated 1952 - 1968. Have yet to see an old North Vietnamese coin with a sharp image of old Ho.
Many collector coins from Vietnam have been produced in Singapore, but also in Finland, Cuba or Austria. As for circulation coins, as @mlov43 wrote, not many were minted after the mid-1970s ... Christian
Are these worth anything & should i clean them i have about twelve of each from Cam Ranh Bay Vietnam ?
Do not rub them with anything, ever. Rinsing them with distilled water, acetone, or xylene, is okay. But don't rub or scrape.
The particular coins you imaged are not worth much. As for South Vietnam, nice 50 Xu (1953) are selling a bit on the high side (~15-25 dollars). Several types from 1975 can be valuable, and a 1968 20 Dong, KM# 11, in nice MS 62+ can be worth about $20.00. (NOTE: there are 2 types of 20 Dong issues, look for the one with "Chien" as part of the legend on the side with the date, not the one with "Ngan"). Not high prices, and practically no rarities. From N. Vietnam, some rarities are known. But I am not familiar with those.
First congratulations Siberian Man for the interesting exposition and the pieces shown. Most of these I've never seen anywhere. Here is my one and only Vietnamese coin, with a nice picture of Ho Chi Minh (note GSDykes).
And here are a few from French Indochina, first and foremost a "Piastre de Commerce" (French trade dollar) from 1921 then a 10 cent piece from 1945 (no longer Etat Francaise, but proper French Indochina) and finally a Piastre 1947
To Hollywood: I'll cheerfully buy a couple of those Cam Ranh Bay Dong from you, but we are not supposed to discuss purchases on this forum, and I can't access your profile, so send me a message if interested.
That is not an old N. Vietnam coin. I meant those which were made before and during the conflict. Since our retreat, they have produced many many coins, some of good quality. Many have images of HCM, but the older ones are not very good. As I said, I have yet to see a sharp image of old Ho - add - on a pre-1980 coin.
Yes, I did, thank you very much. Taken with my trusty Olympus VG130, resting on a drill press. I think I get pretty good results with this fairly basic system.
here's a Vietnam coin/token i just got. Here's the write up on the gateway on the coin. courtesy of wikipedia. Friendship Pass also commonly known by its older name Ải Nam Quan (隘南關), is a pass near the border between China's Guangxi and Vietnam's Lạng Sơn Province, on the Chinese side of the border (21°58′35″N 106°42′44″E).[1][2] Vietnamese National Route 1A starts near to this pass, which lies less than 5 km north of the town of Đồng Đăng in Lạng Sơn Province, ending in Năm Căn in Cà Mau Province. China National Highway 322 runs from here to Guangxi Province and Hunan Province. This is one of the busiest border trading points of Vietnam. It was built in the early Ming dynasty with the name of "South Suppressing Pass. In 1953, its name was changed to "South Watching Pass". In 1965, its name was changed again to the current Friendship Pass, reflecting the close political, military, and economic ties between the People's Republic of China and North Vietnam during the then-ongoing Vietnam War. Traditionally, the pass served as the exact border between China and Vietnam. However, recently the pass has been in Chinese control and well within Chinese territory, in Pingxiang, Chongzuo County, Guangxi Autonomous Region, since the early 1950s, and the official border between the two nations is beyond this pass. The new border was later confirmed by Chinese and Vietnamese communist officials by a border treaty enacted in June 2000, with Vietnamese officials stating that some Vietnamese territory along the Sino-Vietnamese border, namely in Cao Bằng Province and Lạng Sơn Province has been ceded to China. This concession met with an uproar among the Vietnamese populace.
I have been a collector of Annam / "Indo-China" / Vietnam coinage for years. I made my first purchase of an NGC registered coin to finally obtain one of those silver Tien (KM-403) presentation coins I've looked at for so many years earlier this year. Not sure about the authenticity on the 1946 Ho Chi Minh Dong.
