Digital museum showcasing the collection of worldwide legends over the years! 千古不朽博物館展示多年來收藏的世界傳奇故事!
Tây Sơn dynasty
Nguyễn Quang Toản
Cảnh Thịnh Đại Bảo
西山朝
阮光纘
景盛大宝
Item number: A2983
Year: AD 1793-1801
Material: Brass
Size: 23.7 x 23.8 x 0.5 mm
Weight: 1.6 g
Provenance: Spink 2023
This is a “Cảnh Thịnh Đại Bảo” coin cast in brass between AD 1792 and 1802 by Nguyễn Quang Toản, the last ruler of the Tây Sơn dynasty, who is referred to in historical records as the Cảnh Thịnh Emperor. The coin bears the inscription of his first reign title, “Cảnh Thịnh”. Another type of coin bearing the same era name is the “Cảnh Thịnh Thông Bảo”, which was also issued during his reign.
The coin follows the traditional Chinese-style square-holed cash coin design. On the obverse, the inscription “Cảnh Thịnh Đại Bảo” (景盛大宝) is engraved in slender regular script Chinese characters, arranged in the sequence of top, bottom, right, and left. The reverse is plain, with no inscriptions or decorative elements.
The Tây Sơn dynasty was a Vietnamese regime that existed from AD 1778 to 1802, founded by the three Tây Sơn brothers of the Nguyễn family, who led a rebellion against the oppressive taxation and rule of the Nguyễn lords of Quảng Nam in southern Vietnam.
Nguyễn Quang Toản, the second and final ruler of the Tây Sơn dynasty, was captured and executed by Nguyễn Phúc Ánh, a descendant of the Nguyễn lords, in AD 1802 through lingchi (death by a thousand cuts). Following the fall of the Tây Sơn regime, Nguyễn Phúc Ánh established the Nguyễn dynasty, which became the last imperial dynasty of Vietnam.