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!
Vietnam
Chính Pháp Nguyên Bảo
越南
正法元寶
Item number: A3006
Year: ND
Material: Bronze
Size: 21.1 x 20.9 x 0.6 mm
Weight: 1.75 g
Provenance: Spink 2023
This is a Vietnamese coin of unknown date of issue. Due to the country’s frequent historical periods of political fragmentation, and even during times of dynastic unification, regional warlords and local elites often engaged in the independent minting of currency. Within this socio-political context, numerous coins emerged that cannot be correlated with any officially recognised reign title. Such coins are referred to in numismatic scholarship as “uncatalogued coins” (脫譜錢), denoting currency that falls outside the established historical and administrative records.
The coin follows the traditional Chinese-influenced square-holed cash coin design and is made of bronze. On the obverse, the four Chinese characters “Chính Pháp Nguyên Bảo” (正法元寶) are arranged in a clockwise sequence. The character “Nguyên” (元) at the bottom is rendered in seal script, while the other three characters are written in regular script. This blending of different calligraphic styles is a common characteristic of Vietnamese coinage.
The reverse side of the coin is blank, without any inscriptions or decorative elements.