Item number: A3155

Year: AD 1658-1662

Material: Bronze

Size: 24.0 x 24.0 x 0.9 mm

Weight: 3.45 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a Vĩnh Thọ Thông Bảo coin minted during the reign of Lê Thần Tông, the eighteenth ruler of the Later Lê dynasty. It was issued under his sixth era name, Vĩnh Thọ, which was in use from AD 1658 to 1662.

The coin features a design modelled after traditional Chinese square-holed cash coins. On the obverse of the coin, the inscription “永壽通寶” (Yǒng Shòu Tōng Bǎo) is engraved in Chinese characters, arranged in the order of top, bottom, right, and left. The character “永” at the top is rendered in running script, while the remaining three characters are written in regular script. The reverse is plain, bearing no inscriptions or decorative elements.

Vĩnh Thọ Thông Bảo coins were among the more abundantly minted issues during the late period of the Later Lê dynasty. Based on calligraphic style, they can be broadly categorised into regular script, clerical script, running script, cursive script, and mixed script. Among these, the character 永 (“Vĩnh”) exhibits the greatest variation in stylistic form.

During the reign of Lê Thần Tông, real political power was dominated by the powerful Trịnh clan, reducing the emperor to a largely symbolic and ceremonial figurehead. Vietnamese historians refer to this era as the Revival Lê Dynasty (Lê Trung Hưng triều). Lê Thần Tông’s father, Lê Kính Tông, was assassinated after attempting to wrest power from the influential lord Trịnh Tùng. From AD 1643 to 1649, under mounting pressure from Trịnh Tráng, Lê Thần Tông was compelled to abdicate in favour of his son, Lê Chân Tông, resulting in a brief period of temporary retirement from the throne.

During the Revival Lê Dynasty period, real power in northern Vietnam was held by the Trịnh lords, while the southern regions were controlled by the rival Nguyễn clan. This division gave rise to the prolonged conflict known as the Trịnh–Nguyễn War, often referred to by historians as Vietnam’s Southern and Northern Dynasties (Nam Bắc triều) period. The country remained politically fragmented for an extended time.

Despite the internal division, the Revival Lê Dynasty witnessed notable developments in culture, the arts, and the economy. Confucianism and the imperial examination system continued to flourish, contributing to what is considered one of the golden ages of Vietnamese cultural history.

In AD 1788, the Tây Sơn uprising overthrew the Lê regime, and the following year, Emperor Lê Chiêu Thống fled to Qing China. This marked the formal end of the Revival Lê Dynasty.

物件編號: A3155

年代: 公元 1658-1662 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 24.0 x 24.0 x 0.9 mm

重量: 3.45 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚後黎朝第十八任統治者黎神宗在位期間，以其公元1658至1662年間使用的第六個年號「永壽」為名，所鑄造的「永壽通寶」。

錢幣形制為深受中國影響的方孔錢外觀。錢幣正面按照上、下、右、左的順序，鐫刻漢字「永壽通寶」四字。上緣「永」字呈現行書，其他三個字則是楷書字體。錢幣背面為光背，沒有任何文字或是圖案。「永壽通寶」為後黎朝末期鑄造量較為可觀的錢幣，按照書法字體能大致分為：楷書、隸書、行書、草書和雜書，其中「永」字的書法造型最為多變。

黎神宗在位期間的背景為大權遭到權臣鄭氏家族把持，皇帝僅擔任象徵元首的尷尬局面，越南史學家將這段期間稱之為「黎中興朝」。神宗的父親黎敬宗正因為意圖跟權臣鄭松奪權遭到殺害，公元1643至1649這段期間，神宗本人在鄭梉的壓力下被迫禪讓予兒子黎真宗短暫退位。

黎中興朝這一時期，鄭氏家族實際統治北越，南方則由阮氏政權控制，形成「鄭阮紛爭」，或稱「南北朝」局勢，國家處於長期分裂。儘管如此，黎中興朝在文化、藝術、經濟方面仍有一定發展，儒學、科舉制度繼續推行，成為越南文化的黃金時代之一。公元1788年西山起義軍推翻黎朝，次年黎昭統帝出逃清朝，黎中興朝宣告終結。