5 Đồng

Pick 10B belongs to the DRV's earliest emission series, printed under extraordinary conditions — the Việt Minh government had been fighting French forces since December 1946 and had no access to a proper printing infrastructure. These notes were produced on rudimentary equipment in jungle workshops in the Việt Bắc zone, which accounts for the crude impression quality that collectors frequently mistake for forgeries or damaged survivors.

The 10B designation distinguishes it from the 10A by a signature variation. Both circulated simultaneously in liberated zones where French colonial piastres were officially forbidden — enforcement was uneven, but possession of French currency carried real political risk by 1947.