Item number: A1788

Year: AD 1454-1459

Material: Bronze

Size: 24.0 x 24.0 mm

Weight: 3.6 g

Manufactured by: Thăng Long Mint

Provenance: Da Chen Stamps and Coins Collection 2014

This is a “Diên Ninh Thông Bảo” coin minted and circulated during the reign of Emperor Lê Nhân Tông of the Later Lê dynasty.

The obverse inscription reads “Diên Ninh Thông Bảo”, arranged in a top-bottom, left -right sequence, written in regular script. The reverse is plain and uninscribed. The coin exhibits a complete outer rim and inner border on both sides, with a generally uniform contour. However, a slight misalignment of the inner border on the reverse side suggests a minor displacement during the striking process.

In AD 1442, Emperor Lê Thái Tông’s young son, Lê Bang Cơ, ascended the throne at the age of two. Empress Dowager Tuyên Từ (Nguyễn Thị Anh) acted as regent, and the reign title was changed to Thái Hòa. In AD 1453, Lê Nhân Tông assumed personal rule, though he continued to share authority with the Empress Dowager. In AD 1454, the Ming Emperor Jingtai officially conferred upon him the title King of Annam, and within the same year, Lê Nhân Tông changed the reign title to Diên Ninh. During the Thái Hòa and Diên Ninh periods, multiple coinage issues were minted, with successive refinements leading to a more standardised monetary system, influencing later Vietnamese coinage designs. In AD 1459, Lê Nhân Tông’s elder brother, the deposed Crown Prince Lê Nghi Dân, staged a coup, assassinating both the emperor and the Empress Dowager. Proclaiming himself emperor, he issued coins inscribed with the reign title “Thiên Hưng Thông Bảo”, but his rule lasted less than a year before he was overthrown by his ministers.

Due to multiple mintage issues, Diên Ninh Thông Bảo coins exhibit diverse variations. These variations are primarily categorised based on the structure of the character “Ninh” (寧) into four major types:

The first type features an elongated initial stroke in “Đinh” (丁). The second type has an extended lower horizontal stroke in “Mãnh” (皿), exceeding the length of “Đinh” (丁). The third type presents a slightly shorter lower horizontal stroke in “Mãnh” (皿) compared to “Đinh” (丁). The fourth type, known as “Mãnh Câu Ninh” (皿勾寧), omits the initial stroke of “Đinh” (丁).

Based on these classifications, this particular coin belongs to the third type. Additionally, variations exist in the writing of “Thông” (通), where some specimens feature two dots, while others have three. Other distinguishing factors include differences in font size, stroke thickness, and the width of the coin’s rim.

物件編號: A1788

年代: 公元 1454-1459 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 24.0 x 24.0 mm

重量: 3.6 g

製造地: 昇龍鑄錢場

來源: 大城郵幣社 2014

這是一枚後黎朝黎仁宗所鑄行的延寧通寶。

錢幣正面幣文為「延寧通寶」對讀，楷書。錢背光素無文，錢幣兩面皆外輪內廓俱全，輪廓大致均勻，唯錢背內廓稍有移範，應為壓印過程中的錯位。

公元1442年，黎太宗幼子黎邦基登基，年僅二歲，由宣慈太后阮氏英攝政，改元太和。公元1453年親政，仍與皇太后共治。公元1454年，明代宗冊封黎仁宗為安南國王，同年黎元宗改元延寧。太和、延寧年間多次鑄幣，時有改進，日趨規範，影響了越南此後鑄錢形制。公元1459年，其兄，廢太子黎宜民兵變襲殺仁宗及皇太后，自立為帝，鑄行年號錢「天興通寶」，不及一年旋為群臣所廢黜。

由於多次鑄幣，延寧通寶版式多元，以「寧」字型別分類，主要有四：一式為「丁」之首劃極長；二式為「皿」之下橫長於「丁」；三式為「皿」之下橫略短於「丁」；四式為「皿勾」寧，略去了「丁」首劃。按此，該錢幣當為三式。「通」字寫法亦有分二點或三點，此外，字體大小、粗細、幣緣寬狹等也都各有區別。