NOSE FOR NOTES: Phùng Văn Hùng has pursued his hobby of tracking down old money for more than a decade. VNS Photo Hồng Vân By Minh Phương, Vân Nguyễn & Linh Chi Flicking through the pages of some of his old currency albums, Phùng Văn Hùng’s mind rewinds to the first time he became fascinated with money. It was 11 years ago the 30-year-old began his hobby, and since then he has spent most of his free time searching for old notes to add to his collection. And it’s not just old Vietnamese currency that excites him, as he’s also a lover of money from other countries. Right now his collection is bursting at the seams, with more than a million different types of notes. But there’s always room for more. “I have collected old notes since 2009, so it’s been more than 11 years now,” he said. “A passion for old money is in my blood. When I went to the Hà Nội Museum and saw a currency album, it piqued my interest and I began searching for and collecting old currency. My first album is one that I bought at the museum, which cost me VNĐ150,000, or about US$9 at that time.” When he first began collecting money, Hùng was still at university so struggled to buy the ones he desperately wanted. Sometimes he even went hungry, preferring to spend his cash on old notes rather than a bite to eat. “It was very tough when I first started out collecting,” he said. “I was a student at the time, so I didn’t have much money for trading. I couldn’t ask for my parents’ help, so I used money for meals to build up my collection. And I think those tough times make me appreciate my hobby even more.” He believes a collector must have the ability to understand different notes, comparing and classifying them in order to assess their true value. “People think that the older a note is, the more expensive it will be. But that’s not true,” he explained. “Value is defined by rarity. For example, a VNĐ2,000 note issued in 1987 by the State Bank of Việt …
