Item number: A3108

Year: AD 1709

Material: Bronze

Size: 23.7 x 23.7 x 0.7 mm

Weight: 3.7 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a copper-tin-lead alloy coin cast and circulated during the reign of Emperor Lê Dụ Tông of the Revival Lê dynasty, specifically from the first to the fifteenth year of the Vĩnh Thịnh era (AD 1705–1719).

The coin follows the traditional style of the Sinosphere: a round shape with a square hole in the centre. The obverse bears the inscription “Vĩnh Thịnh Thông Bảo” written in regular script, read from top to bottom and right to left. The characters are relatively large in size. The character “Vĩnh” is written in the archaic form “𣱵”; the character “Thông” is tall and slender, referred to as “long Thông”, with the radical “甬” rendered as “マ” in the upper right, and the radical “辶” modified so that the left dot and turning stroke appear as two dots and a vertical stroke. In the character “Bảo”, the “缶” radical is written as “尔”. All four characters are connected to the inner rim and detached from the outer rim, a style known as “leaning on the rim” (倚廓). On the reverse, to the left of the square hole, there is an additional character “己”, which is written in a form resembling “巳”. This is believed to be a cyclical year marker. In the Vĩnh Thịnh era, years with the heavenly stem “Jǐ” include the fifth year, Jǐchǒu (AD 1709), and the fifteenth year, Jǐhài (AD 1719). However, coins bearing the “己” character are generally believed to have been cast in the fifth year.

Lê Dụ Tông (birth name: Lê Duy Đường, also rendered as Lê Duy Trinh) was the eleventh emperor of the Revival Lê dynasty, reigning from AD 1705 to 1729. During his reign, the emperor was a nominal sovereign, while actual power resided in the hands of the Trịnh lords. In AD 1705, Lê Duy Đường was installed as emperor by Lord Trịnh Căn. Upon Trịnh Căn’s death in AD 1709, Trịnh Cương succeeded as lord. During his tenure, Trịnh Cương implemented various reforms, including the establishment of military academies, equalised land allocation, changes to the imperial examination system, and land surveys. Though these reforms failed to resolve the fundamental crisis of the Revival Lê dynasty, traditional historiography regards his rule positively. As the Trịnh lords governed in the name of the Lê emperors, Lê Dụ Tông also received favourable evaluations.

In AD 1718, the Kangxi Emperor of Qing China dispatched envoys to Đại Việt and formally conferred upon Lê Dụ Tông the title “King of Annam”. In AD 1720, the era name was changed to Bảo Thái. In AD 1727, Lê Dụ Tông’s eldest son and crown prince, Lê Duy Tường, was deposed due to his poor relationship with Trịnh Cương. He was replaced by his younger half-brother, Lê Duy Phường, born to a consort of the Trịnh family. In AD 1729, under the arrangement of Trịnh Cương, Lê Dụ Tông abdicated in favour of Lê Duy Phường, who adopted a new era name and was posthumously known as Emperor Vĩnh Khánh. Lê Dụ Tông retired with the title of Grand Emperor (Thái Thượng Hoàng). That same year, Trịnh Cương died and was succeeded by his son, Trịnh Giang, who is historically characterised as decadent, cruel, and incompetent. In AD 1731, Lê Dụ Tông passed away. The following year, Trịnh Giang deposed Lê Duy Phường, demoting him to Duke of Hôn Đức, and later referred to him as the Deposed Emperor Lê. He then reinstated Lê Duy Tường to the throne as Emperor Lê Thuần Tông.

In AD 1958, in Bái Trạch Village, Thọ Xuân District, Thanh Hóa Province, Democratic Republic of Vietnam, a farmer unearthed a tomb while digging. In AD 1964, after the tomb was excavated and the coffin opened for study, it was confirmed to be the tomb of Lê Dụ Tông. The tomb is considered one of the most complete imperial burials discovered in modern Vietnamese archaeology.

物件編號: A3108

年代: 公元 1709 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 23.7 x 23.7 x 0.7 mm

重量: 3.7 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚由後黎裕宗於年號永盛元年至十五年所鑄行之「永盛通寶」，幣材為銅、錫、鉛合金。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統之方孔圓錢。錢面錢文「永盛通寶」楷書，由上而下、由右至左對讀，字體較大。「永」字寫為「𣱵」；「通」字字形瘦長，稱「長通」，「甬」旁右上寫為「マ」，「辶」旁左側點與折筆改寫為二點加一豎筆；「寶」字「缶」旁寫為「尔」。四字均接穿離輪，稱「倚廓」。錢幕錢穿左側有錢文「己」，寫法似「巳」，當為紀年，永盛年間天干己年有永盛五年己丑年(公元1709年)與永盛十五年己亥年(公元1719年)，而據稱背「己」錢皆為永盛五年所鑄。

黎裕宗(Lê Dụ Tông)，本名黎維禟(Lê Duy Đường，也作黎維禎)，公元1705至1729年在位，是越南黎中興朝第十一位皇帝。統治期間名義上為國君，實權則掌握在鄭主手中，皇權形同虛設。公元1705年，黎維禟由鄭主鄭根(Trịnh Căn)扶位。公元1709年，鄭根逝，鄭棡(Trịnh Cương)繼位鄭主。鄭棡於任內進行多項改革，設武學、均丁田、改科舉、度田畝，後世來看未能解決黎中興朝困境，但於傳統史書中評價頗佳，而因鄭主皆以黎皇之名執政，連帶黎裕宗亦受到褒揚。公元1718年，清康熙帝遣使大越，封安南國王。公元1720年改元保泰。公元1727年，原立為太子的長子黎維祥(Lê Duy Tường)因與鄭棡關係不睦，被強行廢黜，改由次子，鄭后所出之黎維祊(Lê Duy Phường)繼任太子；公元1729年，黎裕宗在鄭棡安排下禪位給黎維祊，以年號稱，是為永慶帝，自己則退居為太上皇。同年鄭棡去世，由其子鄭杠(Trịnh Giang)繼任鄭主，鄭杠史評荒淫奢侈、殘暴無能。公元1731年，黎裕宗病逝。翌年，鄭杠廢黜黎維祊為昏德公，後亦稱黎廢帝。鄭杠重新擁立黎維祥即位，是為黎純宗。

公元1958年，越南民主共和國清化省(Thanh Hóa)壽春縣(Thọ Xuân)白澤村(Bái Trạch)，農民掘地時挖開墓穴，公元1964年開棺研究後，證實為黎裕宗墓。該墓為越南近代出土最完整墓葬之一。