Item number: A3119

Year: ND

Material: Bronze

Size: 22.8 x 22.6 x 0.4 mm

Weight: 1.65 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a coin of the type known as “Trị Bình Thánh Bảo” (治平聖寶), which circulated in the region of present-day Vietnam. The precise origin of the Trị Bình Thánh Bảo remains undetermined, and the majority of scholars believe it to be privately cast.

The coin is cast in the traditional form of a round coin with a square central hole, characteristic of monetary systems within the Sinosphere. The inscription on the obverse reads “Trị Bình Thánh Bảo” in a clockwise sequence and is rendered in tạp thư (mixed script), referring to the use of multiple calligraphic styles—a common feature in Vietnamese privately minted coinage. Specifically, the characters Trị (治), Bình (平), and Thánh (聖) are written in regular script (khải thư), while Bảo (寶) appears in clerical script (lệ thư). In the character Trị, the final dot of the water radical (氵) is elongated but rendered with a broken stroke, and the horizontal stroke at the lower part of the character connects with the edge of the square central hole. In Bình, the two side dots are written as a right-falling and a left-falling stroke, with the left dot connected to the main horizontal stroke. In Thánh, the components normally written as the “ear” (耳) and “mouth” (口) radicals are jointly stylised as wǎng (罒), while the left component (𡈼) is rendered as Nhâm (壬), with an extended central horizontal stroke and a disconnected initial stroke. The character Bảo shows the “fǒu” component (缶) written as Nhĩ (尔), but further simplified to resemble the form ㄅ. This variant configuration is referred to as an aberrant-script Thánh-Bảo (異書聖寶). The character Trị connects directly to the central square hole, and although all four characters are linked to the rim, their structure is spatially separated from it. The reverse side of the coin is plain, lacking both rim and border, and bears no inscription

“Trị Bình” was the reign title of Emperor Lý Cao Tông (李高宗) of the Ly dynasty, who ruled from AD 1205 to 1210. However, it appears that Ly Cao Tong only issued coins inscribed “Trị Bình Nguyên Bảo” (治平元寶) in regular script. Some scholars believe that the inscription “Trị Bình Thánh Bảo” combines individual characters from the Chinese Northern Song dynasty reign titles “Zhiping” (治平, AD 1064–1067 under Emperor Yingzong) and “Tiansheng” (天聖, AD 1023–1032 under Emperor Renzong), possibly reflecting a hybrid coinage style, though with slight stylistic differences. In Vietnam, it was a common practise for privately cast coins to adopt Chinese reign titles, particularly from the Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties. This practise stemmed from the complex history of relations between China and Vietnam, including tributary exchanges, trade, conflicts, and frequent contact. Furthermore, due to Vietnam’s chronic shortage of copper, Chinese currency flowed into Vietnam in large quantities and gained acceptance among local merchants and citizens. Although the practise of creating new coin names by rearranging characters from multiple reign titles is relatively rare, it is not without precedent. The inscription may also have drawn inspiration from Vietnamese historical coinages such as the “Đại Trị Nguyên Bảo” (大治元寶) and “Thông Bảo” (通寶) of the Tran dynasty, the “Thiên Thánh Nguyên Bảo” (天聖元寶) of Champa, or the “Thánh Nguyên Thông Bảo” (聖元通寶) of the Ho dynasty under Emperor Dạ Ngụy.

Since the first casting of “Thái Bình Hưng Bảo” (太平興寶) with a square-holed round form in the early years of the Đại Cồ Việt state (AD 970), private minting has been repeatedly prohibited, yet it persisted. The circulation of privately minted coins was largely due to a lack of copper resources in Vietnam and the insufficiency of imported Chinese coins to meet domestic needs. These private coins were often made from inferior materials, enabling illicit profit. When such practises became widespread, the overabundance of debased currency led to inflation and hardship in daily life. Consequently, the proliferation of privately minted coins typically coincided with periods of weak central authority or civil strife. In Vietnam, such occurrences were particularly concentrated during the late Tran dynasty (AD 1341–1400) and the late Later Lê dynasty (AD 1533–1789). Additionally, the Nguyen lords of Quang Nam in southern Vietnam and the Tokugawa Shogunate in Nagasaki both issued trade coins to support maritime commerce. Notably, Nagasaki minted “Jihei Genpō” (治平元寶) coins between the 16th and 18th centuries, though the relationship between these and the “Trị Bình Thánh Bảo” remains unclear.

The “Trị Bình Thánh Bảo” coin was first documented in AD 1882 by the renowned archaeologist Eduardo Toda y Güell, who served as the Spanish Vice-Consul in Macao. After his travels in East Asia, he published Annam and Its Minor Currency in Shanghai, where he interpreted the inscription as “Trị Thánh Bình Bảo” (治聖平寶). Since then, the coin has occasionally appeared in catalogues and numismatic references by French and Japanese scholars, although its exact provenance remains unresolved.

物件編號: A3119

年代: ND

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 22.8 x 22.6 x 0.4 mm

重量: 1.65 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚流布越南地區之治平聖寶。治平聖寶出處待考，學者多認為該錢幣為私鑄。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統之方孔圓錢。錢面錢文為「治平聖寶」旋讀，雜書。雜書即多字體混雜，為越南私鑄幣常見特徵。具體而言，「治、平、聖」為楷書，「寶」字則為隸書。「治」字「氵」旁末挑點長但斷筆，下方一劃與錢穿相接；「平」字二點寫為側點與左側點，左側點與橫劃相連；「聖」字「耳」旁暨「口」旁寫為「罒」，「𡈼」旁寫為「壬」，中央橫劃較長，首劃斷筆；「寶」字「缶」旁寫為「尔」旁，但簡寫為「ㄅ」，稱「異書聖寶」。「治」字接穿，四字連輪但結構離輪。錢背無輪無廓，光素無文。

「治平」為李朝高宗年號(公元1205-1210年)，惟李高宗似只鑄行「治平元寶」楷書錢文。有學者認為是取北宋英宗治平年間(公元1064-1067年)，與北宋仁宗天聖年間(公元1023-1032年)之「治平通寶」、「天聖元寶」楷書版各一字組成，唯字體稍有差別。於越南流布之私鑄錢，取中國年號而自鑄為常有之例，主要為宋、明、清諸帝。概因歷朝歷代，中越的關係自羈縻、朝貢、貿易乃至相互衝突，接觸頻繁，加以越南本地缺銅，是以中國貨幣大量流入，形制得到本地商民的肯認。而拆年號取字自組為錢名，雖較罕見但並非沒有他例。亦有可能取自越南歷史鑄幣，如陳朝大治元寶、通寶，占婆天聖元寶，胡朝大虞帝聖元通寶等。

自大越太平年初(公元970年)首鑄「太平興寶」方孔圓錢以來，私鑄錢便屢禁不絕。私鑄錢的流布，多因越南銅料缺乏，加以中國流入之錢幣不能滿足需要所致。但私鑄錢多以次充好，以此牟利，倘若浮濫，從而發生錢賤物貴的景況，將影響民生。故私鑄錢的泛濫，多於中央政權衰弱，乃至地方政權彼此攻伐之時期。於越南而言，主要集中在陳朝晚期(公元1341至1400年)與後黎朝晚期(公元1533至1789年)。此外，越南南部的廣南阮主、日本德川幕府於長崎，也都有鑄造貿易錢以供海貿所需，其中長崎於16世紀至18世紀間，便有治平元寶的鑄造紀錄，與治平聖寶是否相關則不明。

「治平聖寶」錢初次入譜當為公元1882年，由著名的考古學家，時任西班牙駐澳門副領事的愛德華多·托達·伊·古埃爾(Eduardo Toda y Güell)，於遊歷東亞後，於上海出版之《安南及其小額貨幣》(Annam and its Minor Currency)。托達將錢文釋讀為「治聖平寶」。此後於法人、日人學者等之圖鑑與錢譜中也時有收錄，具體出處至今仍待考。