Item number: A3194

Year: AD 1558-1777

Material: Bronze

Size: 23.8 x 23.8 x 0.6 mm

Weight: 2.75 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a bronze Thái Bình thông bảo coin issued under the Nguyễn Lords of Quảng Nam in Đại Việt (present-day central and southern Vietnam).

The coin follows the traditional East Asian typology of a round form with a square central hole. The obverse inscription reads “Thái Bình thông bảo” in a style between clerical and regular script, arranged vertically and read from top to bottom, right to left. The characters are relatively small. In the character “太”, the dot is slightly offset to the left and written as a slanted dot, not connected to the left-falling stroke. The character “平” features two dots rendered in a seal script-like style, but inverted vertically to resemble the form “┐┌”. In the character “通”, the radical “辶” is simplified, with the bending stroke reduced to a single vertical line, and the bottom right stroke combines the sweeping stroke and the final bend into one. On the reverse side, below the square hole, there are two small dots, a feature referred to as “two dots below the hole” (背下二星).

The attribution of the Thái Bình thông bảo coin is contested and diverse. The first scholarly reference appears in AD 1882 in Annam and its Minor Currency, published in Shanghai by Eduardo Toda y Güell, a noted archaeologist and then Spanish Vice-Consul in Macau, following his travels in East Asia. Toda believed that the coin originated from Lê Sùng (rendered as Le Tong), titled King of Cẩm Giang (Cam Giang Vuong), who was persecuted and executed in AD 1509 under the Later Lê Emperor Lê Uy Mục. His brother Lê Oanh (rendered as Le Ninh in Toda’s text, although Le Ninh was in fact the son of Lê Hựu, known as Emperor Lê Trang Tông), is said to have escaped prison, risen in revolt under Lê Sùng’s name, adopted the reign title “Thái Bình”, and minted flat-reverse Thái Bình thông bảo coins. This account is not recorded in official dynastic histories. Lê Oanh later recaptured the capital, ascended the throne as Emperor Lê Tương Dực, and adopted the reign title Hồng Thuận.

The reign title “Thái Bình” was used multiple times in history. In AD 966, during the final years of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Đinh Bộ Lĩnh defeated the Twelve Warlords and established the Đại Cồ Việt kingdom—known in history as the Đinh dynasty. In AD 970, he proclaimed the Thái Bình reign and issued “Đại Bình hưng bảo” coins, with the character “Đinh” on the reverse. Later, in AD 976, the Song Emperor Taizong adopted the reign title “Thái Bình hưng quốc” and issued Thái Bình thông bảo coins with clerical-style inscriptions. It was common for private mints in Vietnam to borrow Chinese reign titles to issue their own coins, capitalising on the recognisability and circulation of Chinese cash coins. Such private minting usually occurred during periods of weakened central authority—such as the end of the Trần dynasty, the final years of the Later Lê dynasty, or from the reign of Cảnh Hưng (AD 1740–1786) onward. Moreover, during the Lê Restoration that overthrew the Mạc dynasty, the Mạc retained power in the border region of Cao Bằng and are believed to have issued their own Thái Bình thông bảo coins.

According to Japanese numismatist Okudaira Masahiro, “Thái Bình” might not refer to a reign title but rather serve as an auspicious term. The Nguyễn Lords of Quảng Nam, beginning with Nguyễn Hoàng, and his successors, are thought to have issued multiple types of Thái Bình thông bảo coins to meet commercial demand, resulting in a variety of minting styles. Historical evidence suggests that Nguyễn Phúc Trú (Ninh Vương) and Nguyễn Phúc Khoát (Võ Vương) of the 18th century both issued Thái Bình thông bảo coins featuring a dot on the reverse. French scholar Jules Silvestre also proposed that Mạc Cửu, a regional magnate in Hà Tiên under the Nguyễn Lords, minted extremely thin Thái Bình thông bảo coins, which were more likely gambling tokens than legal tender.

The Nguyễn Lordship of Quảng Nam began in AD 1558, when Nguyễn Hoàng—an early founder of the Lê Restoration—was appointed governor of Thuận Hóa at the suggestion of Trịnh Kiểm. Though framed as an honour, this appointment effectively exiled Nguyễn Hoàng to a frontier region, weakening his influence at court amid growing Trịnh dominance. At the time, Thuận Hóa was underdeveloped and served both as a buffer against Champa and Cambodia and as a frontier suitable for autonomous governance. Rather than resisting his assignment, Nguyễn Hoàng actively governed the region—recruiting migrants, pacifying local populations, building defences—and gradually established a de facto independent political and military regime known as the Nguyễn Lords of Quảng Nam. Although nominally loyal to the Lê emperor, they functioned independently and opposed the Trịnh-controlled northern court. From AD 1627, a prolonged civil war erupted between the Trịnh and Nguyễn, lasting until a truce in AD 1672, which formalised the Nguyễn’s control over central and southern Vietnam.

The Nguyễn Lords subsequently expanded southward, conquering territories from Champa and Cambodia. In AD 1698, they established the Gia Định prefecture, consolidating control over the Mekong Delta. During this era, the regime promoted Chinese-style education and civil service examinations, encouraged agriculture and Chinese immigration, and maintained social stability. However, by the late 18th century, corruption and heavy taxation provoked a popular uprising led by the Tây Sơn brothers in AD 1771. The Nguyễn Lordship was overthrown in AD 1777, with most of the royal family executed. Only Nguyễn Phúc Ánh survived, later founding the unified Nguyễn dynasty in AD 1802—the last imperial dynasty of Vietnam.

物件編號: A3194

年代: 公元 1558-1777 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 23.8 x 23.8 x 0.6 mm

重量: 2.75 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚大越廣南阮主政權(今越南中南部)所鑄行之「太平通寶」，青銅質。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統之方孔圓錢。錢面錢文「太平通寶」，似隸書似楷書，由上而下，由右至左對讀。字體較小，「太」字點劃微靠左側，與撇劃不連筆，寫成側點；「平」字二點寫法似篆書，只是上下顛倒呈「┐┌」形；「通」字「辶」旁折筆省略為一豎劃，底捺折筆。錢幕錢穿下有二點，稱「背下二星」。

「太平通寶」鑄主的可能性多元，首次入譜當為公元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)。托達認為太平通寶來自受後黎朝黎威穆帝迫害的錦江王(Cẩm Giang Vương ，書中作金江王／Cam-Giang Vuong)黎漴(Lê Sùng，書中作黎宗／Le Tong)，公元1509年被殺後，其兄弟黎瀠(Lê Oanh，原書作黎譓／Le-Ninh，但黎譓(Lê Hựu)實為黎昭宗名，而Le Ninh為黎昭宗子黎寧，即黎莊宗)，越獄逃出京城，以黎漴之名起事，建號太平，鑄平背的太平通寶，此段於正史無載。後黎瀠率軍返京破城即位，是為黎襄翼帝，改元洪順。

「太平」也數度用作年號，公元966年，時五代十國末期，丁部領削平南漢衰弱後割據的「十二使君」勢力，建「大瞿越國」，史稱「丁朝」。公元970年，建元太平，鑄「大平興寶」錢，背文「丁」。後北宋終結五代十國，宋太宗於公元976年建元「太平興國」，鑄「太平通寶」錢，錢文隸書。而私鑄者取中國年號而自鑄，借用中國錢的流通性，與中國流入銅錢並行，為常有之例，主要為宋、明、清諸帝。經常發生在中央衰弱，朝廷無力管控的年代，如陳朝末期、後黎朝末期與黎中興朝景興年間(公元1740-1786年)以降。此外，黎中興朝推翻莫朝而復辟後黎朝時，莫氏並未被完全消滅，而是退守高平(Cao Bằng)，據考亦有鑄造太平通寶錢。

而根據日本錢幣學家奧平昌洪的考據，「太平」亦可能並非指涉年號，而是用作吉語。廣南阮氏的奠基者阮潢伊始，後續的繼承者們皆有鑄造太平通寶以滿足貿易的需求，使得錢幣的版型十分豐富複雜。據考，十八世紀時的寧王阮福澍、武王阮福濶，均曾鑄行背上有星之太平通寶。而法國學者儒勒・西爾韋斯特(Jules Silvestre)亦曾提出，阮主麾下，河仙鎮地方豪強鄚玖(Mạc Cửu)，亦曾鑄太平通寶錢，但十分輕薄，與其說是貨幣，不如說可能是鄚氏賭場的籌碼代幣。

廣南阮主政權始於公元1558年，當時阮潢因功勳卓著，本為黎中興朝開國元勳之一，卻因鄭氏日益壯大而遭忌，遂被黎朝在鄭檢建議下任命為順化鎮守使，表面上是封賞，實則藉邊疆守衛將其外放、削弱其在朝中的影響力。順化地處偏遠，當時尚未完全開發，既是抵禦南方占婆與真臘的前哨，又便於藩鎮割據的管理。阮潢受命後未自怨自艾，反而積極經營地方，招攬流民、安撫土著、修築防禦，逐步建立起實質獨立的軍政勢力，史稱廣南阮主。雖名義上仍奉黎朝正朔，實際上與北方由鄭氏掌權的黎朝政權分庭抗禮，自公元1627年起爆發長達數十年的鄭阮戰爭，至公元1672年議和後，阮氏穩固中南地區統治權，實質分裂局面確立。其後阮主不斷向南擴張，征服占婆與真臘部分領地，公元1698年設置嘉定府，確立對湄公河流域的統治。在此期間，政權推行漢文教育與科舉、鼓勵農業開墾與華人移民，社會相對穩定。然至18世紀後期，政局腐敗、稅賦沉重，引發公元1771年西山兄弟起義，最終於公元1777年滅亡阮主政權，宗室大多被誅，僅阮福映倖存，後於公元1802年建立阮朝，統一越南，成為該國最後一個封建王朝。