Lao kip

Thekip(Lao:ກີບ,romanized:kib;code:LAK;sign:₭or₭N;French:kip; officially: ເງີນກີບລາວ, lit. "currency Lao kip") is thecurrencyofLaossince 1955. Historically, one kip was divided into 100att(ອັດ) which are no longer in regular use. The term derives from ກີບkì:p, aLaoword meaning "ingot."
Thepiastrewas the currency ofFrench Indochinabetween 1885 and 1952.
In 1945–1946, the Free Lao government inVientianeissued a series of paper money in denominations of 10, 20, and 50 att and 10 kip before the French authorities took control of the region.
The kip was reintroduced in 1955, replacing theFrench Indochinese piastreat par. The kip (also called apiastreinFrench) was sub-divided into 100 att (Lao: ອັດ) orcents(French:Centimes). It was pegged to theFrench francat a rate of 10 francs per kip.
On 10 October 1958, the kip's peg switched to theUS dollar, and was officially devalued from ₭35 to ₭80 per US dollar:however, the official exchange rate did not reflect market conditions at the time, with the parallel rate reaching ₭600 per dollar by the end of 1963. Laos devalued the kip again on 1 January 1964, and adopted an official rate of ₭240 per dollar and a "free market" rate of about ₭505 per dollar: the free market rate then fell to ₭600 per dollar on 8 November 1971, with the official rate being abolished on 4 April 1972.
ThePathet Laointroduced the "liberation kip" on 12 October 1968, for circulation in the areas that the group controlled.  Banknotes for the liberation kip, which were printed inChina, consisted of ₭1, ₭10, ₭20, ₭50, ₭100, ₭200 and ₭500.
According to the Pathet Lao's media outletSiang Pasason, one liberation kip was worth 6 royal kip on 20 August 1975, three days before the Pathet Lao enteredVientiane.Based on historic exchange rates provided by theInternational Monetary Fund, one US dollar in 1975 was worth 725 royal kip or 120.83 liberation kip.
In 1976, the new communist Laotian government replaced the royal kip with the liberation kip. The exchange rate was 20 royal kip per liberation kip.A currency confiscation was carried out, where individuals could exchange up to 100,000 royal kip for liberation kip, and businesses up to one million royal kip; they had to deposit the rest in state-owned banks.
On 16 December 1979, the former Pathet Lao "liberation kip" was replaced by the new Lao kip at a rate of 100 to 1.
Royal Kip (1955)
Coins were issued in denominations of 10, 20 and 50 att or cents with French and Lao inscriptions. All were struck inaluminumand had a hole in the centre, like theChinese cash coins. The only year of issue was 1952.
Pathet Lao Kip (1976)
Coins were again issued in Laos for the first time in 28 years in 1980 with denominations of 10, 20 and 50 att, with each being struck in aluminum and depicting the state emblem on the obverse and agricultural themes on the reverse. These were followed by commemorative 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 kip coins issued in 1985 for the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. However, due to the economic toll of theSoviet collapsein 1991 and the persistence ofchronic inflation, coins are rarely seen in circulation.
In 1953, the Laos branch of theInstitut d'Emission des États du Cambodge, du Laos et du Vietnamissued notes dual denominated inpiastreand kip. At the same time, the two other branches had similar arrangements with therielinCambodiaand theđồnginSouth Vietnam. There were notes for 1, 5, 10 and 100 kip/piastres.
In 1957, the government issued notes denominated solely in kip. The notes were for 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 kip printed by the Security Banknote Company, 100 kip printed by theBanque de Franceand a commemorative 500 kip printed byDe La Rue. 1 and 5 kip notes printed byBradbury & Wilkinson, as well as 10 kip notes by De La Rue were introduced in 1962.
In 1963, 20, 50, 200 and 1000 kip notes were added, all printed by De La Rue. These were followed by 100, 500 and 5000 kip notes in 1974–75, again by De La Rue. 10 kip notes by Bradbury & Wilkinson and 1000 kip notes by De La Rue were printed but not circulated.
Banknotes issued in 1975 or before in Pathet Lao controlled areas, and were in denominations of 1, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 kip.
In 1979, banknotes were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 kip. 500 kip notes were added in 1988, followed by 1000 kip in 1992, 2000 and 5000 kip in 1997, 10,000 and 20,000 kip in 2002 and 50,000 kip on January 17, 2006 (although dated 2004). On November 15, 2010, a 100,000 kip banknote was issued to commemorate the 450th anniversary of the founding of the capital,Vientiane, and the 35th anniversary of the establishment of the Lao People's Democratic Republic.Kaysone Phomvihane(1920–1992) is pictured on the obverse of the 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, and 100,000 kip banknotes.
The Bank of Laos governor announced on January 25, 2012, that the Bank of Laos would issue 100,000 Kip banknotes as a regular issue on February 1, 2012 (but dated 2011) to encourage Lao people to use the national currency instead ofU.S. dollarsandThai baht.As of 2019, the ₭500 note is the smallest one commonly in circulation.