Item number: A3033

Year: AD 1787-1789

Material: Bronze

Size: 24.4 x 24.2 x 0.8 mm

Weight: 3.2 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a bronze coin issued during the reign of Lê Mẫn Đế, the last emperor of the Later Lê dynasty (AD 1787–1789), bearing the inscription Chiêu Thống Thông Bảo (昭統通寶), which corresponds to his era name.

The coin follows the traditional Chinese-inspired square-holed design. On the obverse, the inscription Chiêu Thống Thông Bảo (昭統通寶) is engraved in regular script, arranged in the order of top, bottom, right, and left. On the reverse, a single Chinese character Chính (正) appears at the bottom, which likely indicates the minting location.

During the reign of Emperor Lê Mẫn Đế, Vietnam was entrenched in the period of division known as the “Northern Trịnh and Southern Nguyễn” era. The situation grew even more chaotic in AD 1786, when the emerging Tây Sơn forces, having defeated the southern Nguyễn lords, advanced northward and overthrew the Trịnh regime that had held de facto control over the Later Lê court. Although Lê Mẫn Đế sought military assistance from the Qing Empire and temporarily succeeded in expelling the Tây Sơn army, Qing general Sun Shiyi (孫士毅) underestimated the enemy and suffered a counterattack. As a result, Lê Mẫn Đế was forced to flee with his family and loyalists into Guangxi, within Qing territory.

In AD 1790, the Qianlong Emperor summoned Lê Mẫn Đế to Beijing, where his household and followers were incorporated into the Eight Banners system. Despite his desire to restore the Lê dynasty and repeated petitions to the Qing court for support, his appeals were consistently rejected. He ultimately died of illness at the age of 28. In AD 1802, following the downfall of the Tây Sơn regime and the establishment of the Nguyễn dynasty by Nguyễn Phúc Ánh, the remaining loyalists of the Lê dynasty residing in China were granted permission by the Jiaqing Emperor to return to Vietnam and reinter the remains of Lê Mẫn Đế and his consort.

物件編號: A3033

年代: 公元 1787-1789 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 24.4 x 24.2 x 0.8 mm

重量: 3.2 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚後黎朝的末代皇帝黎愍帝在位期間(公元1787至1789年)，以其年號發行鑄造的「昭統通寶」，材質為青銅。

錢幣形制為深受中國影響的方孔錢。錢幣正面按照上、下、右、左的順序，依序以漢字楷書書法鐫刻「昭統通寶」。錢幣背面的下緣也有一個漢字「正」，應該是代表錢幣的鑄造地點。

黎愍帝在位期間的越南正處於「北鄭南阮」的分裂局面，更為混亂的是，公元1786年，新興的西山勢力在擊敗南方的阮氏之後，揮兵北上擊敗控制後黎朝的鄭氏。即便黎愍帝向清帝國聲討救兵一度成功驅逐西山軍，但是指揮清兵的孫士毅過於輕敵遭到西山軍的反擊，黎愍帝被迫攜帶家眷和手下一同退入清帝國的廣西境內。公元1790年，乾隆皇帝召見黎愍帝於北京，將其家眷和屬下編入八旗編制之內。即便黎愍帝有復國的意願，上奏清廷尋求支援但是屢遭拒絕，最終以28歲之齡病逝。公元1802年，廣南阮氏後人阮福映消滅西山朝建立阮朝之後，後黎朝滯留在中國的遺臣終於獲得嘉慶皇帝許可，帶著黎愍帝夫婦的遺體一同歸國安葬。