QUERY: VIETNAMESE BANKNOTE OVERSTAMP TRANSLATION SOUGHT

I have been working for several months trying to find and bring together all of my numismatic pieces of a pre-united Viet Nam in every crook, cranny, corner, box, drawer, shelf, envelope, etc. During this work, I recently came across something that I know does not belong to me. I seem to remember it coming from Europe but right now I cannot find the envelope. With my heavy correspondence and stacks of mail always all over my office, I ask the collector or dealer to send me a color photocopy or scan instead of the actual piece, so I do not misplace it like I did with this note. But this owner mailed the actual piece to me.

It is a Series 1958 Democratic Republic of Viet Nam 10 Dong bank note. It is usually cataloged under North Viet Nam and in Pick it is numbered 74a for the issued note. For the same note with a Da Thu overstamp, it is numbered 74b. The Da Thu overstamp was applied on May 3, 1978 when this note was exchanged for Series 1976 coins and notes.

The note I just re-found has an overstamp on it too but the word is Mupia or Nupia or something else. The word could mean exchanged, cancelled or annulled. The note could have been exchanged in a Vietnamese Embassy somewhere in Europe and they applied an overstamp on it in the local language. Or someone tried to exchange it for a local currency after it became demonetized and the bank or foreign exchange in that country overstamped it.

Besides showing the actual note with the overstamp in its upper right corner, I am also showing what I believe to be what I can see of the overstamp. My question is; can someone fluent in the language of the overstamp translate it for me? Thank you in advance for anyone translates it. And if the owner knows this note is his, please contact me at HADaniel3@msn.com, so I can return it. I am pretty sure I know who owns it but my recent letter to him came back with address unknown overstamped on it.

Wayne Homren, Editor

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web