Catalog
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
| Issuer | Banque Nationale du Laos |
|---|---|
| Year | 1957-1962 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Security Banknote Company (SBNC), Philadelphia, United States (?-date) |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in red-brown on a guilloche underprint, with the bank title BANQUE NATIONALE DU LAOS across the top. A central vignette portrays a woman at a traditional loom weaving fabric, flanked by ornamental panels bearing the numeral 20 at each corner. The anti-counterfeiting legend LE CONTREFACTEUR SERA PUNI CONFORMÉMENT À LA LOI and the denomination VINGT KIP appear along the lower margin. |
| Reverse lettering | BANQUE NATIONALE DU LAOS / LE CONTREFACTEUR SERA PUNI CONFORMÉMENT À LA LOI / VINGT KIP |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Banque Nationale du Laos was established in 1954 following the Geneva Accords, which effectively ended French Indochina and left Laos formally independent but economically fragile. This early series — produced by Security Banknote Company in Philadelphia — reflects the heavy American financial involvement in Laos during the late 1950s, when U.S. aid accounted for the overwhelming majority of the government's operating budget.
SBNC was a relatively minor player in the sovereign banknote printing trade, and Lao notes from this period occasionally show ink register inconsistencies that suggest limited experience with high-security intaglio work at the time of production.