Item number: A2994

Year: AD 1885-1889

Material: Brass

Size: 23.2 x 22.7 x 0.7 mm

Weight: 1.95 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This coin was issued under the reign of Đồng Khánh, the ninth ruler of Vietnam’s Nguyễn dynasty, who reigned from AD 1885 to 1889. It bears the inscription Đồng Khánh Thông Bảo, named after his first era title. By this time, the Nguyễn emperors based in Huế had already lost effective power and functioned primarily as figureheads under French colonial rule. Nevertheless, to preserve the appearance of imperial authority, traditional square-holed coins continued to be minted during his reign.

The coin adopts the traditional square-holed form, a style heavily influenced by northern Chinese numismatic design. On the obverse, the four Chinese characters Đồng Khánh Thông Bảo are inscribed in regular script in a clockwise sequence: top, bottom, right, and left. The reverse side is plain, featuring no additional inscriptions or decorative motifs.

In AD 1884, following the effective consolidation of French control over Vietnamese territory, the Qing Empire was compelled to recognise France as the protector of Vietnam through the signing of the Second Treaty of Huế. This agreement marked the formal beginning of French colonial rule, under which the Nguyễn emperors became mere figureheads of a colonial administration. Vietnam was subsequently divided by the French into three administrative regions, with the imperial court in Huế placed under the jurisdiction of the so-called Protectorate of Annam.

In AD 1885, the former emperor Hàm Nghi, under the influence of the regent Tôn Thất Thuyết, launched an anti-colonial resistance and fled the imperial capital. In response, the French authorities sought to undermine Hàm Nghi’s legitimacy by installing Đồng Khánh as the new emperor. By AD 1887, Hàm Nghi had been captured by the French and exiled to Algeria in North Africa.

物件編號: A2994

年代: 公元 1885-1889 年

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 23.2 x 22.7 x 0.7 mm

重量: 1.95 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是越南阮朝的第九任統治者同慶帝，於公元1885至1889年間，以其使用的首個年號發行鑄造的「同慶通寶」。彼時位於順化的阮朝皇帝已經喪失實權，僅僅是作為法國殖民政府的傀儡，不過為了維持皇帝的門面仍有鑄造傳統的方孔錢。

錢幣形制為深受北方中國影響的方孔錢造型。錢幣正面按照上、下、右、左順序，以漢字楷書書法鐫刻「同慶通寶」四字。錢幣背面為光背，沒有任何圖案或是文字。

公元1884年，彼時已經大致掌握越南全境的法國藉由《第二次順化條約》，正式迫使清帝國承認法國為越南的保護國，阮朝皇帝自此成為法國殖民政府的傀儡，越南全境被法國劃分為三個行政區，阮朝朝廷所在的順化由安南保護國管轄。公元1885年，前任的咸宜帝在權臣尊室說鼓動下，決定對於法國殖民者發起反抗並且離開順化朝廷，法國人為了跟咸宜帝相抗衡決定扶植同慶帝為新任皇帝。公元1887年，咸宜帝遭到法國俘虜並且被流放至北非的阿爾及利亞。