Item number: A1502

Year: AD 1859

Material: Silver

Size: 55.8 x 24.4 mm

Provenance: Stack’s Bowers 2024

In the realm of silver coinage, Vietnam once minted a distinctive regional currency known as “bar money”. Prior to the French invasion in the 19th century, this type of silver bar held significant importance as a local currency, even serving as a currency for the royal treasury. Through trading, it found its way into Southeast Asia, China, Japan, and other regions.

The obverse of this rectangular bar money features a square border enclosing Chinese characters that indicate the minting location and denomination: “富安 官銀壹兩” (Phú Yên, Official Silver, One Lang). Phú Yên is a coastal province located in south-central Vietnam. In the lower left corner of the silver bar, there is an additional stamped Chinese character, “栢” (Bai).

The reverse of the bar money also features a rectangular border, within which the minting era is inscribed: “嗣德年造 己未” (Minted in the Reign of Emperor Tu Duc, Year of Jǐwèi). Using the Chinese sexagenary cycle as a reference, this confirms that the bar money was minted in AD 1859.

Vietnam, historically known as Annam, was one of the tributary states of the Qing Empire. However, in the late 19th century, Western powers, led by France, extended their influence over Vietnam from the southern region onwards. During the reign of Emperor Tu Duc, the Sino-French War erupted (AD 1883-1885) between the Qing Empire and the French Third Republic, contesting the sovereignty of Vietnam. The war spanned across Vietnam, southern China, and Taiwan. Emperor Tu Duc passed away near the end of the war, and ultimately, the Qing Empire acknowledged Annam as a French protectorate. Subsequently, Annam fell under French colonial rule as part of French Indochina.

The last emperor of the Nguyễn Dynasty, Bảo Đại, became a puppet under various colonial powers, including France and Japan. This situation persisted until 1955 when under pressure from the Southern Vietnamese strongman Ngo Dinh Diem, Bảo Đại was forced into exile in France, marking the end of imperial rule in Vietnam.

物件編號: A1502

年代: 公元 1859 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 55.8 x 24.4 mm

來源: SBP錢幣拍賣 2024

越南在銀製貨幣方面，曾鑄造過一種極具區域特色的「條銀」，在公元19世紀法國入侵以前，這種條銀是當地的重要貨幣。甚至為皇室的內庫所御用，部分更透過貿易關係，傳入東南亞、中國和日本等地。

這枚長方形條銀的正面有一道方框，方框內以漢字標示鑄造地點和面額「富安 官銀壹兩」，富安是位於越南中南部的臨海省份。條銀左下角尚有一個漢字戳記「栢」。

條銀背面同樣有一道方框，方框內打印其鑄造的年代「嗣德年造 己未」。從干支年作為判斷，能確切得出這枚條銀鑄造的時間為公元1859年。

越南古稱安南，為清帝國的藩屬國之一。但進入公元19世紀以後，以法國為首的西方列強從南部染指安南。嗣德帝在位期間，清帝國和法蘭西第三共和國為了宗主權的歸屬爆發中法戰爭(公元1883-1885)，戰場橫跨越南、中國南部及台灣。而嗣德帝在戰爭末期駕崩，最終清帝國承認安南為法國保護國，後續則淪為法屬印度支那殖民地。阮朝的末代皇帝保大，則先後成為法國和日本等殖民勢力的傀儡，直到公元1955年在南越強人吳廷琰的逼宮下，被迫流亡法國和結束帝制在越南的歷史。