The Belarus 5 ruble note, issued in 1992 are being sold widely on the internet has the image of two dogs on them. The 500 Tanolu note, a temporary currency issued in Lithuania between 1991 and 1993, is also popular due to their dog images. Thousands of foreign banknotes are being sold as lucky money. 

The 500 Tanolu note of Lithuania  

"I bought those notes in US dollars. They are not very expensive but the transportation is costly," Toan, a seller in Hanoi's Cau Giay District, said.

Besides the real banknotes with dog images, there are also lucky notes issued for the Lunar New Year and the best seller is the 2 US dollar featuring 8 Gold Matching Dog's in Holographic Gold. Each of such note costs VND400,000 (USD17) to VND500,000. The notes with lucky serial numbers can cost up to VND800,000-VND1.2m. The sellers earn at least VND100,000 in profit for each note.

Huan, a seller in Binh Tan District, HCM City, said he had started a combo package with softer prices to attract customers. "I've sold about 1,000 notes from various countries to wholesale buyers. There were also five to 10 retail buyers come to me each day," he said.

Even the coins with dog images have sold well. There is a vast number of types of coins being sold such as the pair of Australia gold and silver coins that cost VND300,000 (USD13). The Taiwanese coins cost VND100,000 a pair and are favoured by students because of the cute dogs.

Le Thi Thu, head of the Human Resources Department at a company in HCM City said she had just bought 30 US dollar notes. "I'll give the 2 dollar notes to family members for luck. They're rare and much more expensive than the real 2 dollar note. I bought it for prosperity in the New Year."

Some people, however, thought that Vietnam dong were more practical.

Duong Manh Hai, a local in Hanoi's Thanh Xuan District, said he had a six-year-old child but he was still too small to understand the meaning and value of money and might not be happy to receive the foreign banknotes.