Item number: A3086

Year: AD 1868

Material: Brass

Size: 24.1 x 24.0 x 0.9 mm

Weight: 3.1 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a brass coin cast during the reign of Emperor Tự Đức (Nguyễn Phúc Thì) of the Nguyễn dynasty, between AD 1847 and 1883. Its legal weight was nine phân, approximately equivalent to 3.276 grams today. Due to the financial crises brought about by the warfare during the Tự Đức period, the currency system underwent multiple adjustments.

The coin conforms to the traditional form of round coins with square holes, typical of the East Asian cultural sphere. The obverse bears the inscription “Tự Đức Thông Bảo” in regular script, read top-to-bottom and right-to-left. All four characters are connected to the central hole; the characters “Tự”, “Đức”, and “Bảo” also connect to the outer rim. The reverse carries the inscription “Lục Văn” (“Six Văn”) in regular script, read from right to left.

By the time of the Tự Đức reign, white lead coins had become the de facto circulating currency, while copper coins primarily served as accounting units. In the early years of his reign, one copper coin of six phân could be exchanged for two white lead coins of equivalent weight. In AD 1856 (Tự Đức year 9), after French warships bombarded the port of Tourane (present-day Đà Nẵng), the government began requisitioning resources and preparing for war. In AD 1858 (Tự Đức year 11), facing financial hardship, the exchange rate was altered to three white lead coins for one copper coin of six phân. In AD 1861 (Tự Đức year 14), the government emulated the Qing dynasty’s Xianfeng era by minting “Tự Đức Bảo Sao” notes, with a nominal value twice that of their actual weight. Production of small and large format copper coins was gradually reduced. In AD 1867 (Tự Đức year 20), France annexed the six southern provinces of Cochinchina. The following year, the exchange rate changed to four white lead coins for one copper coin of six phân, and six white lead coins for one copper coin of nine phân, with the inscription “Lục Văn” engraved on the reverse to indicate this rate. By AD 1870 (Tự Đức year 23), the nine-phân “Lục Văn” copper coin was reduced in weight to six phân, marking an irreversible trend of currency depreciation.

By the Tự Đức era, white lead coins had effectively become the main circulating currency, while copper coins served primarily as units of account. In the early years of the reign, one copper coin weighing nine phân could be exchanged for three white lead coins weighing six phân each. In AD 1856 (Tự Đức year 9), after French warships bombarded the port of Tourane (present-day Đà Nẵng), the government began requisitioning surplus resources and preparing for military resistance. In AD 1858 (Tự Đức year 11), due to escalating fiscal difficulties, the exchange rate was altered so that one nine-phân copper coin equated to four six-phân white lead coins. In AD 1861 (Tự Đức year 14), the court adopted a policy modelled on the Qing dynasty’s Xianfeng-era reforms, issuing “Tự Đức Bảo Sao” banknotes, whose nominal value was roughly double their actual weight. Concurrently, the minting of both large and small copper coins was gradually reduced. In AD 1867 (Tự Đức year 20), France forcibly annexed the six southern provinces of Cochinchina. The following year, newly minted copper coins weighing nine phân could be exchanged for six six-phân white lead coins and bore the reverse inscription “Lục Văn” to reflect this value. By AD 1870 (Tự Đức year 23), the weight of these “Lục Văn” nine-phân coins was reduced to six phân, marking an uncontrollable trend of currency depreciation.

物件編號: A3086

年代: 公元 1868 年

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 24.1 x 24.0 x 0.9 mm

重量: 3.1 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚公元1847至1883年間，阮朝嗣德帝阮福時，在位期間所鑄行的「嗣德通寶」，黃銅質。法重為九分，約合今3.276公克。由於嗣德年間戰亂導致的財政危機，幣值多次改變。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統之方孔圓錢。錢面錢文「嗣德通寶」楷書，由上而下、由右至左對讀。四字均接穿，「嗣、德、寶」連輪。錢幕錢文「六文」楷書，由右至左順讀。

阮朝至嗣德年間，白鉛錢已成為事實上主要的行用錢，銅錢則為計價單位。至嗣德初年，重九分銅錢一枚可兌重六分白鉛錢三枚。嗣德九年(公元1856年)，法艦炮擊土倫港(今峴港市)，政府開始搜刮餘財，整軍備戰。嗣德十一年(公元1858年)，由於財政困難，改重九分銅錢一枚可兌重六分白鉛錢四枚。嗣德十四年(公元1861年)，另倣清咸豐朝制度，鑄「嗣德寶鈔」，法值大約為法重的二倍，大小樣銅錢則大約逐漸減鑄。嗣德二十年(公元1867年)，法國強佔南圻六省。次年，新鑄重九分銅錢則可兌重六分白鉛錢六枚，並以此背文「六文」。嗣德二十三年(公元1870年)，重九分「六文」錢減重至六分，貨幣貶值的趨勢難以遏止。

嗣德帝(Vua Tự Đức)，名阮福時(Nguyễn Phúc Thì)，公元1847-1883年在位，為阮朝第四任皇帝。即位後面對內憂外患，一方面需應對國內農民起義、宮廷派系爭鬥與財政困窘，另一方面則遭遇法國殖民壓力節節逼近，導致越南逐步喪失自主權。嗣德帝以儒學自重，信奉綱常，試圖透過頒布嗣德正編《大南寔錄》與整肅科舉制度等政策來穩固王朝正統，然而其內政與外交措施未能有效應對西方入侵。自公元1858年法蘭西第二帝國進攻峴港起，越南軍事上節節敗退，最終於公元1862年簽訂第一次西貢條約，割讓嘉定、定祥、邊和三省，並允許法國通商傳教；至公元1874年第二次西貢條約簽訂，越南正式承認法國對南圻的統治權。法國亦藉此加深對北圻與中圻的干涉，導致越南事實上淪為保護國。嗣德帝一生多病，未有子嗣，在世時預立三位養子繼位，死後宮廷政爭激烈，朝政崩解。