5000 Vietnamese Dong Banknote (Type 1987)

5,000 Ðồng Dong (Issued 1987)

The 1987 Vietnamese 5,000 Dong note belongs to a tradition of socialist realist banknote design that dominated state-issued currency across Southeast Asia during the mid-to-late twentieth century, combining portrait engraving with industrially themed reverses to project national identity and economic ambition. The layout follows a classical horizontal format, with a dominant central portrait flanked by geometric and guilloché patterning that fills the field with intricate mechanical repetition. Colour is deployed in layered washes of blue, green, and brown, giving the note visual depth while serving as a basic anti-counterfeiting measure. Compared to other regional issues of the same era, the design is notably dense, with every zone of the note surface activated by text, pattern, or imagery.

On the front, the dominant feature is a portrait of Ho Chi Minh, the founding leader of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, rendered in fine intaglio engraving in the upper right quadrant. The portrait depicts him in his familiar elderly appearance, with a thin beard and a calm, composed expression, presented in a slightly oval vignette with fine line shading that gives the image three-dimensional depth. To the left of the portrait sits the national emblem of Vietnam, a circular device featuring a red star above a cog wheel and stylised rice sheaves, printed in blue-grey tones. The background of the note is covered in an intricate guilloché pattern of repeating oval and circular forms in green and blue, creating a dense security mesh across the entire face. The large numeral “5000” appears prominently in the upper right corner and again in a bold serif typeface in the lower left corner, where it is printed in dark brown ink against a lighter background. The serial number “YA 5103791” appears twice — once in red numerals across the upper central field and again in smaller dark print below. The year “1987” is visible in small text near the lower central area of the note. At the very top, Latin-script text reads “CONG HOA XA HOI CHU NGHIA VIET NAM”, identifying the Socialist Republic of Vietnam as the issuing authority, while at the base the denomination text “NAM NGHIN DONG” is printed in clear block lettering within a bordered panel.

The reverse centres on a large, finely engraved vignette depicting offshore oil drilling platforms at sea, with two prominent steel rig structures rising above calm waters beneath a lightly clouded sky. The engraving is detailed and precise, with hatching and cross-hatching used to render reflections on the water surface and structural detail on the rigs themselves. The scene is framed by decorative border elements at the left and right margins, incorporating stylised floral and geometric motifs in dark blue and purple tones. In the upper section of the reverse, Latin-script text reads “NGAN HANG NHA NUOC VIET NAM”, identifying the State Bank of Vietnam. The numeral “5000” appears in the upper right corner, and the full denomination “NAM NGHIN DONG” is reproduced in a bordered panel at the base of the note, consistent with the front face typography. The overall colour palette of the reverse is cooler than the front, dominated by steel blue and grey tones, with accents of deep purple in the ornamental border elements.

This 5,000 Dong banknote can be exchanged through Webuyallcurrency.com, where old or withdrawn Vietnamese Dong banknotes are bought alongside other foreign currency — ideal for clearing a drawer of mixed coins and notes at once.

• Indicate the quantity of 5,000 Ðồng Dong banknotes you want to exchange
• Click the ‘Add to your account’ button
• Your online account now shows the exchange value

Webuyallcurrency.com buys and exchanges foreign currency of every kind, so your Vietnamese Dong banknotes — withdrawn or current — can be sold for cash together with the rest of your leftover coins and notes.

Other Vietnamese Dong you can exchange: 10, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000, 10000, 20000, 50000.