Vietnam - 1975 - 5,000 Dong - P35

Country / Region: Vietnam
Continent: Asia

Denomination: 5,000 Dong

Year: 1975
Grade: Uncirculated
Face Value (as at 2013.03.15): about USD0.24
Pick: 35
Dimension: 152 mm x 75 mm

Figure (Obverse): Reunification Palace, Ho Chi Minh City

Figure (Reverse): The Leopard

Helen's Score: 6.2/10 (apparently she’s not very fond of the fierce leopard… I personally give this one a 9 at least!)

Interesting Fact: This is it - the legendary “The Leopard” banknote from Vietnam! I’m thrilled to be able to finally add this fine gem (what’s more, in UNC) to collection. It seems that while The Leopard is really sought after, not many stories related to it are widely available on the Internet. Would really appreciate if anyone could point me to sources where I can learn more about its related history. From what I can find now (a nice single informative page here), the economy of South Vietnam made a turn for the worse and inflation soared in 1973-74. The government issued 5,000 and 10,000 dong banknotes despite public disapproval. Accordingly, they were only used 2 months before The Fall of Saigon. One can imagine that most of the printed banknotes were destroyed amidst the turmoil. However, a very few of these manage to survive, and have since become one of the most sought-after post-modern banknotes.

Country / Region: Armenia

Continent: Eurasia

Denomination: 100,000 Dram

Year: 2009

Grade: Uncirculated

Face Value (as at 2013.01.23): about USD246.65

Pick: 54
Dimension: 160 mm x 72 mm

Figure (Obverse): Abgar V of Edessa

Figure (Reverse): St. Thaddeus transferring the image of Christ to Abgar V of Edessa

Interesting Fact: Having received this splendid banknote on the day of our 2nd wedding anniversary is really great. Personally I think this note should have been a runaway winner of Banknote of 2009; instead the honor goes to the 2-dollar note from Bermuda. It's also beautiful, of course, but I like the Bermuda banknotes as a set (Flora & Fauna) rather than a standalone note from the series. What I find especially interesting is the back side of the 100,000 Dram note, which depicts St. Thaddeus transferring a portrait of the Christ painted from life to Abgar V. Quoting Wikipedia, "...As the legend later expanded, this portrait, purportedly painted by the court archivist Hannan during his visit to Jesus, is first mentioned in the Syriac text called the "Doctrine of Addai" (or Doctrina Addai; the name Addaei or Addaeus = Thaddaeus or Thaddeus), from the second half of the 4th century. Here it is said that the reply of Jesus was given not in writing, but orally, and that the event took place in 32 AD. This Teaching of Addai is also the earliest account of an image of Jesus painted from life, enshrined by the ailing King Abgar V in one of his palaces." Would be interesting if I could learn more on this.

Country / Region: Mali
Continent: Africa
Denomination: 10,000 Francs
Year: 1970
Grade: Uncirculated
Face Value (as at 2012.06.16): about USD9.63
Pick: 15
Figure (Obverse): Man in front of a Ceramic Factory at Djikoroni
Figure (Reverse): Man with weaver, and a woman with a coin headband

Story: This is one of those banknotes where we CANNOT determine its current value by referencing its face value. In 1984, Mali has readopted the CFA franc, at an exchange rate of 2 Malian francs = 1 CFA franc. Applying this rate on this huge banknote and we would arrive at something like USD9.45. However, this is one of the tougher finds in anybody’s collection. The sheer size of this banknote only contributes to the difficulty to retrieve an uncirculated version. Anthony with his amazing connection found the entire set for me some time in 2010, and would always stay as one of my top treasures.

Interesting Fact: Issued from 1970-1984, this is the part of a set of currency used under the dictatorship of Moussa Traoré, who served as the Head of State of Mali from 1968 to 1991.

Country / Region: Faroe Islands
Continent: Europe

Denomination: 1,000 Krónur

Year: 2004

Grade: Uncirculated

Face Value (as at 2013.03.15): about USD167.83

Pick: 28

Figure (Obverse): Purple Sandpiper by Zacharias Heinsen

Figure (Reverse): A view from the Island of Sandoy by Zacharias Heinsen

Story: First post ever on this blog. Let’s start with a big entrance.

This is the highest denomination available from Faroe Islands. A lot of my friends are not even aware of the existence of this small and beautiful island, including myself(!) until I started to look into banknotes more seriously a few years ago. If we draw a triangle linking up Iceland, the northern tip of UK and the eastern tip of Norway, Faroe Islands would be pinpointed somewhere there between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean.

With a population of less than 50,000, Faroese can pride themselves for owning one of the best designed banknotes in the world. These banknotes do not have the usual white edges, which I think adds to the overall impression that this is a painting rather than a banknote. I particularly like how the Purple Sandpiper is “fading away into the background”,a genuine artistic touch.

Not an easy task to take hold of this splendid note, especially for those of us living in NEA.

Interesting Fact: The entire set of banknotes features watercolor paintings by Zacharias Heinesen. According to Wikipedia, he is a Faroese landscape painter born in 1936 in Tórshavn. Incidentally, his artworks are also featured in a set of beautiful stamps issued in June 2001.

Being a small self-governing dependency of Denmark, the Faroese Kronur is pegged 1:1 with DKK.