Item number: A3144

Year: AD 1443-1453

Material: Bronze

Size: 20.2 x 19.9 x 0.6 mm

Weight: 1.8 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a privately cast coin modelled after the Tài Hòa Thông Bảo (太和通寶), associated with the first era name “Đại Hòa” used by Lê Nhân Tông, the third ruler of the Later Lê dynasty. It was likely produced unofficially by local or civilian sources.

The coin adopts a square-holed design strongly influenced by traditional Chinese cash coins, with the central square hole taking on a diamond-shaped orientation. On the obverse, the inscription “太和通寶” (Tài Hòa Tōng Bǎo) is engraved in regular script Chinese characters, arranged in a clockwise order: top, bottom, right, and left. The reverse side is blank, with no additional inscriptions or decorative elements.

In AD 1442, Emperor Lê Thái Tông’s young son, Lê Bang Cơ, ascended the throne at the age of two. Empress Dowager Tuyên Từ (Nguyễn Thị Anh) acted as regent, and the reign title was changed to Thái Hòa. In AD 1453, Lê Nhân Tông assumed personal rule, though he continued to share authority with the Empress Dowager. In AD 1454, the Ming Emperor Jingtai officially conferred upon him the title King of Annam, and within the same year, Lê Nhân Tông changed the reign title to Diên Ninh. During the Đại Hòa and Diên Ninh periods, multiple coinage issues were minted, with successive refinements leading to a more standardised monetary system, influencing later Vietnamese coinage designs. In AD 1459, Lê Nhân Tông’s elder brother, the deposed Crown Prince Lê Nghi Dân, staged a coup, assassinating both the emperor and the Empress Dowager. Proclaiming himself emperor, he issued coins inscribed with the reign title “Thiên Hưng Thông Bảo”, but his rule lasted less than a year before he was overthrown by his ministers.

物件編號: A3144

年代: 公元 1443-1453 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 20.2 x 19.9 x 0.6 mm

重量: 1.8 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚模仿後黎朝第三任統治者黎仁宗，以其使用的第一個年號「大和」鑄造的「太和通寶」，可能為民間私下鑄造的錢幣。

錢幣形制為深受中國影響的方孔錢，中間的方孔呈現菱形。錢幣正面按照上、下、右、左順序，依序以漢字楷書書法鐫刻「太和通寶」。錢幣背面為光背，沒有任何圖案或文字。

公元1442年，黎太宗幼子黎邦基登基，年僅二歲，由宣慈太后阮氏英攝政，改元太和。公元1453年親政，仍與皇太后共治。公元1454年，明代宗冊封黎仁宗為安南國王，同年黎元宗改元延寧。大和、延寧年間多次鑄幣，時有改進，日趨規範，影響了越南此後鑄錢形制。公元1459年，其兄，廢太子黎宜民兵變襲殺仁宗及皇太后，自立為帝，鑄行年號錢「天興通寶」，不及一年旋為群臣所廢黜。