5 Hào

The 1985 Vietnamese currency reform was a straight redenomination — 10 old đồng became 1 new đồng — introduced in September of that year to address the inflationary damage of the post-reunification decade. This 5 hào note, worth half a new đồng, was part of the lowest tier of that reformed series, intended to handle fractional transactions at a moment when the command economy still set fixed prices across most of the retail sector.

The series was short-lived in practical terms. Inflation accelerated sharply through the late 1980s, and denominations this small were effectively worthless before the decade ended.