This is a bronze coin issued between AD 1558 and 1777 by the Nguyễn Lords of Quảng Nam, a regime that, while nominally recognising the Lê emperor as sovereign, effectively ruled southern Vietnam from its capital in Huế. The coin, known as Tường Phù Nguyên Bảo, was modelled after the Chinese Song dynasty’s era title “Xiangfu.”
The coin follows the traditional Chinese-style square-holed design, though the central square hole tends toward a more rounded shape. On the obverse, the four characters “Tường Phù Nguyên Bảo” (祥符元寶) are inscribed in a clockwise sequence using Chinese calligraphy. The bottom character “Nguyên” (元) exhibits a semi-cursive style, while the other three characters are written in regular script. The mixture of script styles is a distinctive feature of Vietnamese coinage. The reverse side is plain, bearing no inscriptions or decorative motifs.
“Xiangfu” was the reign title used by Emperor Zhenzong of the Northern Song dynasty in China from AD 1008 to 1016. Coins minted during the Xiangfu era typically featured a plain reverse or were decorated with simple motifs such as stars and crescents. According to Vietnamese historical sources, the nine rulers of the Nguyễn Lords of Quảng Nam (AD 1558–1777), who nominally recognised the Later Lê emperors but ruled southern Vietnam independently from their capital in Huế, never adopted their own reign titles. Instead, they primarily based their coinage on Chinese reign titles, with Xiangfu Yuanbao being among the most frequently imitated types.
The founder of the Nguyễn Lords of Quảng Nam was Nguyễn Hoàng, whose father, Nguyễn Kim, had been a key statesman of the Later Lê dynasty. During Nguyễn Hoàng’s youth, the Lê court was usurped by the Mạc dynasty, established by the warlord Mạc Đăng Dung. Although the Later Lê dynasty was later restored with the assistance of Nguyễn Kim, pushing the Mạc forces back to the northern frontier region near China (modern-day Cao Bằng), political tides shifted after Nguyễn Kim was assassinated. Power fell into the hands of his son-in-law Trịnh Kiểm, who began persecuting members of the Nguyễn family.
To escape Trịnh Kiểm’s political suppression, Nguyễn Hoàng requested and was granted governorship of the southern province of Thuận Hóa (modern Huế). There, he established an autonomous base of power, gradually expanding southward at the expense of the Champa Kingdom. This marked the beginning of a de facto divided Vietnam, with the Trịnh lords ruling the north and the Nguyễn lords ruling the south—a period known in Vietnamese history as the Southern and Northern Dynasties (Nam Bắc triều) division.
