100 Đồng Dragon Boat

Vietnam's 1988 commemorative silver program was issued during the tail end of the "Doi Moi" economic reform period, when the State Bank was simultaneously trying to stabilize a currency ravaged by post-reunification mismanagement and hyperinflation that had peaked above 700% annually. Hard-currency foreign exchange was desperately needed, and these collector issues — sold almost exclusively to Western and Asian numismatic markets — were a direct mechanism for earning it. The coins were never intended to circulate domestically.