LUCKY 8888 SERIAL NUMBER DOLLARS POPULAR IN VIET NAM

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V15 2012 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 15, Number 53, December 23, 2012, Article 23

I guess I missed the Bureau of Engraving and Printing's offering of these special serial number notes. Apparently the "8888" series is hot in Vietnam. -Editor

Right after the one-dollar bank note designed specifically for the 2013 Tet, the Year of Snake was marketed in the US some days ago, Vietnamese have been rushing to place orders for the lucky banknotes to prepare for the Tet celebration.

Official information sources say the one dollar banknote was launched into the US market in mid-November on the occasion of Orient people’s Tet. 88,888 one-dollar bank notes have been offered on sale by the US Treasury.

In Hanoi and HCM City, banknote traders have offered to sell the banknotes at 500,000 dong for each. Meanwhile, with the current exchange rate, one dollar is equal to 21,000 dong only.

The traders have advertised that these are the lucky banknotes which have been put into red envelops with printed images of snakes and with gilded Chinese letters. The bank notes are special because their series numbers all start with 8888, the numeral which is in thoughts of Oriental people, can bring good luck and prosperity.

Especially, clients can order a crystal box to put the banknote into it, if they accept to pay about one million dong for both the banknote and the box.

Analysts believe that even with the price level, Vietnamese traders still can make profit, because the original price announced by the US Treasury is 5.95 dollar per banknote only, while those, who buy more than 50 banknotes, would enjoy the preferential price level of 4.5 dollars.

On eBay, lucky one dollar bank notes have been offered at 6.95 – 8.68 dollars. Besides, buyers would also have to pay the shipping fee of five dollars for each time.

Besides the one dollar banknotes, people have also offered to sell the banknotes with special features. These include two dollar bank notes, which are believed to be in high demand, because the banknote is believed to bring good luck to the owners.

In general, older two dollar bank notes would be more expensive than brand new ones. For example, a two dollar bank note issued in 1976 would be priced at 300,000 dong, while the one issued in 1928 at 600,000 dong.

I asked our man in Viet Nam Howard Daniel, and he writes: "One or two years ago, I brought over some US$2 notes that started with four 8's and gave them out. They were VERY well received. $2 are lucky in themselves. I brought 150 CU $2 notes with me this trip and will give them out during Tet." -Editor

To read the complete article, see: Lucky 1-dollar banknote worth half a million dong (english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/55216/lucky-1-dollar-banknote
-worth-half-a-million-dong.html)

Wayne Homren, Editor