Democratic Republic of Vietnam 50 Dong

Following the successful August Revolution 1, the government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam 2 initiated the issuance of Vietnamese banknotes nationwide. These banknotes were introduced from 1945 to 1951 in the North and Central free regions, encompassing both paper currency and coins.

These revolutionary financial banknotes were filled with artistic renderings by renowned artists such as Nguyen Đo Cung, Nguyen Sang, Nguyen Huyen, Mai Van Hien, Bui Trang Chuc, Le Pha, and Huynh Van Gam. Each banknote acted as a canvas, depicting various aspects of Vietnamese life, historical landmarks, and landscapes. 

For this particular banknote, in the center depicts the working class, framed by illustrations of harvest crops, insinuating the message that everyone works hard for a fulfilling future. On top, there are words written in chữ Nôm 3. On both sides are text that states the value of this banknote in chữ Quốc Ngữ 4. The border of this banknote might have visual relation to John Ruskin and William Morris’ signature border designs during the Arts and Crafts movement. These design choices indicate that Western art movements, regardless of political state, still played a great role in shaping Vietnamese art.

1 Cach Mang Thang Tam Khanh HK. The Vietnamese August Revolution Reinterpreted. The Journal of Asian Studies. 1971;30(4):761-782. doi:10.2307/2052986

2 Northern Vietnam

3 Vietnamese ancient ideographic vernacular script https://www.nomfoundation.org/nom-script/What-is-Nom-?uiLang=en

4 Vietnamese modern romanized alphabet https://vietnamesetypography.com/alphabet/