Item number: A835

Year: AD 1558-1777

Material: Bronze

Size: 23.3 x 23.5 x 0.8 mm

Weight: 2.9 g

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection

This is a bronze coin inscribed “太平通寶” (Taiping tongbao), issued under the Nguyễn Lords of Quảng Nam in Đại Việt (present-day central and southern Vietnam).

The coin follows the traditional round form with a square central aperture characteristic of the Han cultural sphere. The obverse inscription, “太平通寶”, is rendered in a script transitional between clerical and regular styles, arranged vertically from top to bottom and read in paired sequence from right to left. The characters are relatively small, with uneven stroke thickness and worn, indistinct surfaces. The characters tai, ping, and bao are connected to the square aperture and rim. The outline of the coin’s field is slightly skewed towards the upper left.

The attribution of the “Taiping tongbao” is complex and has been variously interpreted. Its first recorded inclusion in a numismatic catalogue appears to have been in AD 1882, when the distinguished archaeologist Eduardo Toda y Güell, then Vice-Consul of Spain in Macau, published Annam and its Minor Currency in Shanghai following his travels in East Asia. Toda proposed that the coin originated with Cẩm Giang Vương (rendered in his work as Cam-Giang Vuong), Lê Sùng (given as Le Tong), who was persecuted by Emperor Lê Uy Mục of the Later Lê dynasty and executed in AD 1509. According to Toda, Lê Sùng’s brother Lê Oanh (misrendered in the original as Le-Ninh, though Lê Hựu was in fact the personal name of Emperor Lê Chiêu Tông, and Le Ninh refers to Lê Trang Tông, son of Lê Chiêu Tông) escaped from the capital, raised troops in Lê Sùng’s name, proclaimed the reign title Taiping, and cast plain-reverse “Taiping tongbao” coins. This episode, however, is not recorded in the official dynastic histories. Lê Oanh later returned with his forces, captured the capital, ascended the throne as Emperor Lê Tương Dực, and changed the reign title to Hongshun.

The reign title “Taiping” was also employed on several other occasions. In AD 966, during the closing phase of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Đinh Bộ Lĩnh subdued the “Twelve Warlords” who had carved out territories following the weakening of Southern Han, established the state of Đại Cồ Việt (known historiographically as the Đinh dynasty), and in AD 970 adopted the reign title Taiping, issuing coins inscribed “Đại Bình hưng bảo” with the character “Đinh” on the reverse. After the Northern Song unified China and brought the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period to an end, Emperor Taizong of Song proclaimed the reign title Taiping Xingguo in AD 976 and issued “Taiping tongbao” coins in clerical script. Private minters in Vietnam frequently appropriated Chinese reign titles and cast coins in imitation of Chinese issues, capitalising on their established circulation and allowing them to circulate alongside imported Chinese copper cash. Such practices were particularly common during periods of weakened central authority, notably in the late Trần dynasty, the late Later Lê dynasty, and during the Jingxing era (AD 1740–1786) of the Restored Lê period. Moreover, when the Restored Lê regime overthrew the Mạc dynasty and reinstated the Later Lê, the Mạc were not entirely extinguished but retreated to Cao Bằng; evidence suggests that they too cast “Taiping tongbao” coins.

According to the research of the Japanese numismatist Okudaira Masahiro, “Taiping” may in some cases not denote a reign title but function instead as an auspicious inscription. From the time of Nguyễn Hoàng, the founder of the Nguyễn Lords in Quảng Nam, successive rulers are known to have cast “Taiping tongbao” coins to meet the demands of trade, resulting in a wide and complex range of varieties. It has been suggested that in the eighteenth century, under Lord Ninh (Nguyễn Phúc Thụ) and Lord Vũ (Nguyễn Phúc Khoát), issues were produced bearing a star on the reverse. The French scholar Jules Silvestre further proposed that Mạc Cửu, a powerful local magnate at Hà Tiên under Nguyễn authority, also cast “Taiping tongbao” coins; these were extremely thin and lightweight and may have functioned less as currency than as gaming tokens in the Mạc family’s gambling establishments.

The Nguyễn Lords of Quảng Nam established their regime in AD 1558. Nguyễn Hoàng, originally a meritorious founding supporter of the Restored Lê dynasty, fell under suspicion as the Trịnh clan grew increasingly powerful. At the suggestion of Trịnh Kiểm, he was appointed Governor of Thuận Hóa. Ostensibly a mark of favour, the appointment in reality removed him from the political centre and diminished his influence at court by dispatching him to a distant frontier region. Thuận Hóa was then underdeveloped, serving both as a defensive outpost against Champa and Cambodia to the south and as a convenient territorial base for semi-autonomous military administration. Rather than resent his transfer, Nguyễn Hoàng actively consolidated local authority, recruiting migrants, pacifying indigenous groups, and strengthening defences, thereby establishing a de facto independent military and administrative power known to history as the Nguyễn Lords of Quảng Nam. Though nominally acknowledging the legitimacy of the Lê court, in practice they stood in opposition to the Trịnh-dominated regime in the north. From AD 1627 prolonged warfare erupted between the Trịnh and the Nguyễn, lasting several decades until a settlement in AD 1672 stabilised Nguyễn control over central and southern regions and effectively formalised the territorial division of the country. Thereafter the Nguyễn continued their southward expansion, conquering Champa and parts of Cambodian territory, and in AD 1698 established Gia Định prefecture, thereby consolidating authority over the Mekong basin. During this period the regime promoted Confucian education and civil service examinations in Classical Chinese, encouraged agricultural development and Chinese immigration, and maintained relative social stability. In the later eighteenth century, however, administrative corruption and heavy taxation provoked the Tây Sơn uprising in AD 1771. The Nguyễn Lord regime ultimately collapsed in AD 1777, with most members of the ruling house executed; only Nguyễn Phúc Ánh survived. In AD 1802 he founded the Nguyễn dynasty, unified Vietnam, and established the country’s final imperial dynasty.

物件編號: A835

年代: 公元 1558-1777 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 23.3 x 23.5 x 0.8 mm

重量: 2.9 g

來源:

1. 諾南斯 2022

2. 大衛.萊斯利.福布斯.西利舊藏

這是一枚大越廣南阮主政權(今越南中南部)所鑄行之「太平通寶」，青銅質。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統之方孔圓錢。錢面錢文「太平通寶」，似隸書似楷書，由上而下，由右至左對讀。字體較小，筆劃粗細不均，文字漫漶。「太、平、寶」字接穿連輪。錢幕輪廓向左上偏軸。

「太平通寶」鑄主的可能性多元，首次入譜當為公元1882年，由著名的考古學家，時任西班牙駐澳門副領事的愛德華多·托達·伊·古埃爾(Eduardo Toda y Güell)，於遊歷東亞後，於上海出版之《安南及其小額貨幣》(Annam and its Minor Currency)。托達認為太平通寶來自受後黎朝黎威穆帝迫害的錦江王(Cẩm Giang Vương ，書中作金江王／Cam-Giang Vuong)黎漴(Lê Sùng，書中作黎宗／Le Tong)，公元1509年被殺後，其兄弟黎瀠(Lê Oanh，原書作黎譓／Le-Ninh，但黎譓(Lê Hựu)實為黎昭宗名，而Le Ninh為黎昭宗子黎寧，即黎莊宗)，越獄逃出京城，以黎漴之名起事，建號太平，鑄平背的太平通寶，此段於正史無載。後黎瀠率軍返京破城即位，是為黎襄翼帝，改元洪順。

「太平」也數度用作年號，公元966年，時五代十國末期，丁部領削平南漢衰弱後割據的「十二使君」勢力，建「大瞿越國」，史稱「丁朝」。公元970年，建元太平，鑄「大平興寶」錢，背文「丁」。後北宋終結五代十國，宋太宗於公元976年建元「太平興國」，鑄「太平通寶」錢，錢文隸書。而私鑄者取中國年號而自鑄，借用中國錢的流通性，與中國流入銅錢並行，為常有之例，主要為宋、明、清諸帝。經常發生在中央衰弱，朝廷無力管控的年代，如陳朝末期、後黎朝末期與黎中興朝景興年間(公元1740-1786年)以降。此外，黎中興朝推翻莫朝而復辟後黎朝時，莫氏並未被完全消滅，而是退守高平(Cao Bằng)，據考亦有鑄造太平通寶錢。

而根據日本錢幣學家奧平昌洪的考據，「太平」亦可能並非指涉年號，而是用作吉語。廣南阮氏的奠基者阮潢伊始，後續的繼承者們皆有鑄造太平通寶以滿足貿易的需求，使得錢幣的版型十分豐富複雜。據考，十八世紀時的寧王阮福澍、武王阮福濶，均曾鑄行背上有星之太平通寶。而法國學者儒勒・西爾韋斯特(Jules Silvestre)亦曾提出，阮主麾下，河仙鎮地方豪強鄚玖(Mạc Cửu)，亦曾鑄太平通寶錢，但十分輕薄，與其說是貨幣，不如說可能是鄚氏賭場的籌碼代幣。

廣南阮主政權始於公元1558年，當時阮潢因功勳卓著，本為黎中興朝開國元勳之一，卻因鄭氏日益壯大而遭忌，遂被黎朝在鄭檢建議下任命為順化鎮守使，表面上是封賞，實則藉邊疆守衛將其外放、削弱其在朝中的影響力。順化地處偏遠，當時尚未完全開發，既是抵禦南方占婆與真臘的前哨，又便於藩鎮割據的管理。阮潢受命後未自怨自艾，反而積極經營地方，招攬流民、安撫土著、修築防禦，逐步建立起實質獨立的軍政勢力，史稱廣南阮主。雖名義上仍奉黎朝正朔，實際上與北方由鄭氏掌權的黎朝政權分庭抗禮，自公元1627年起爆發長達數十年的鄭阮戰爭，至公元1672年議和後，阮氏穩固中南地區統治權，實質分裂局面確立。其後阮主不斷向南擴張，征服占婆與真臘部分領地，公元1698年設置嘉定府，確立對湄公河流域的統治。在此期間，政權推行漢文教育與科舉、鼓勵農業開墾與華人移民，社會相對穩定。然至18世紀後期，政局腐敗、稅賦沉重，引發公元1771年西山兄弟起義，最終於公元1777年滅亡阮主政權，宗室大多被誅，僅阮福映倖存，後於公元1802年建立阮朝，統一越南，成為該國最後一個封建王朝。