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Viet Nam: 2 Dong 1946

Started by Rangnath, March 11, 2008, 10:25:20 PM

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Rangnath

After looking at the series of Phans from Viet Nam's distant past, I thought I'd post this one. 
In the 1960's, I thought Ho Chi Minh the George Washington of Viet Nam. Was I right?
This coin is delightfully heavy at 13.9 grams. It is 30 mm across.
richie

Figleaf

Yet another coin I'd never seen before and crave ;)

It may be too early to judge uncle Ho. The history of the area is complicated and it doesn't start with either the Tet offensive or Dien Bien Phu and it did not end on the rooftop of the US embassy. Let's not forget that the area has fallen way behind Thailand and even China because of continuing economic, social and political mismanagement. I have taught classes of Vietnamese, Laotians and Cambodians. I was impressed by their will to learn and get ahead, but also by their frustration with their own government and their boundless admiration for Thailand, which westerners do not tend to see as a role model.

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.

Rangnath

By frustration, were your students referring to the problem of corruption? Their country has made incredible economic gains, year by year, but I'm not too knowledgable about the costs: environmental and distribution of wealth.

Why do I love this coin so much?  It is the portrait of Ho Chi Minh.  This is not an example of Stalinist Super Realism, but it is such an affectionate, sweet rendering of his face.  It seems cartoonish, almost "primitive". That is a bad choice of words, but it is one that was used in Western Art History to indicate art work by a person not formally trained in anatomy. Western trained artists like Picasso and Amedeo Modigliani often attempted to capture something of the "primitive" in their portraits.  Have such portraits been used in Western Coinage?

The enlarged forehead places an emphasis on Ho's intellect. His mouth is serious with intent. Nothing can escape his wide open eyes. The artist created a face one could love and revere. But we don't have to do this from afar. On this coin, Ho Chi Minh is among us.

At least that's how I see it.  I'd say to the artist, "Nice Job!".
richie

Figleaf

They didn't mention corruption. They did mention inaction, deep-seated conservatism and distrust, powerlessness and plain old stupidity. They saw Thailand's example as a way to secure a better life for their children and themselves.

Typically, they were wondering why Thais could make stuff cheaper, while wages there were higher and they wondered why their own government couldn't stop smuggling that put their enterprises out of business. I tried to explain that wages and productivity are connected. If you pay 50% more to someone who makes twice as much stuff, your profits rise in spite of the higher salary. I also argued that if the border couldn't be closed at war time, there's no hope it can be closed in peace time. I told them that the key is in attracting capital to improve productivity not in stopping the world at the border. I am not at all sure I got through.

Meanwhile, I agree on the "primitive" quality of the portrait, but being an economist, rather than an artist, I see wartime deprivation and propaganda in the coin, which confirms my opinion, so it makes me as happy as I am with a partisan newspaper ;).

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.

davidrj

These coins were probably made under very difficult circumstances, post Japanese occupation, by the Viet Minh fighting the French attempt at recolonisation, before they got support from either the USSR or China



They often show clear saw marks, the blanks probably being cut from a brass bar



Interesting coins

Figleaf

Interesting is a mild word for them, davidrj. What the second world war was for my parents, Vietnam was for my generation. Ho was responsible for multiple mass murder of civilians, including woman and children of people deemed to be landowners. He was responsible for death by torture of thousands. Yet, by the standards of Hitler, Stalin or the blockbuster bombing of German cities, he was a softy. I am still not certain if he started out as a frustrated colonial administrator, wanting revenge on his would-be employers, a nationalist, a survivor-communist or a convinced-communist. Yet, he was judged to be the communist he undoubtedly was later in life. History cannot be re-written, but I can't help wondering if he couldn't have been handled much, much better.

These coins invite thought. Think laterally and you end up in Cuba, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria. Why can we learn that drugs can destroy an army and fail to heed the other lessons of Vietnam?

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.

davidrj

Quite, if only coins could talk and tell us their history.  >:( My group above seem to have gone through turbulent times

Wikipedia entry on the Viet Minh here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viet_Minh

leeking

Hi u
i live in vietnam  and u want know in my history. i can help you in its
all thing , u can read in wiki or soure from chanels tv,news paper ... for Vietnam.
I think it's best to forget about it.
And if u want collection coin have face HO . i can help u but i need tell u frist for coin vietnam
Its not price value in international. And in my country price its will drop 10-20%/year