Item number: A3205

Year: AD 1813-1819

Material: Brass

Size: 22.5 x 22.6 x 0.4 mm

Weight: 1.3 g

Manufactured by: Bắc Thành Mint Bereau

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a “Gia Long Thông Bảo” coin issued under Emperor Gia Long of the Nguyễn dynasty, cast in brass. Its statutory weight was five phân and five li (approximately 2.01 grams in modern measurements), while this specimen weighs approximately three phân and six li, significantly lighter than the official standard. It is possibly a privately cast piece or a later imitation.

The coin follows the traditional square-holed round format characteristic of the Sinosphere. The obverse bears the inscription “嘉隆通寶” (Gia Long Thông Bảo) in regular script, read vertically from top to bottom and right to left. The inscription is worn and partially obscured. On the reverse, to the right of the central square hole, there is a raised circular dot, a feature referred to as the “right-side Dot” (背右星).

Prior to the establishment of the empire, Nguyễn Phúc Ánh, then acting as lord of the Nguyễn clan, had already issued coins titled Gia Hưng thông bảo. After proclaiming the foundation of Đại Việt, coins of the earlier style were minted briefly in the first year of Gia Long’s reign (AD 1802). In AD 1803, the second year of the era, the Treasury Mint (Bảo Hóa Cục) was established in the northern citadel, and production of Gia Long thông bảo coins formally commenced. Initially, casting was carried out by private households affiliated with the mint, who purchased copper materials and produced coins based on official moulds, while the mint collected tax and prohibited deviations in form or unauthorised casting furnaces. Later, the state assumed control of copper supply, although casting remained privately operated. In AD 1813 (the twelfth year of Gia Long), the Bảo Tuyền Mint was added to expand production capacity. In AD 1814, drawing from the Qing dynasty coinage standards of the Qianlong period, a new alloy composition was adopted for coins marked “six phân” on the reverse: 50% red copper, 41.5% zinc (white lead), 6.5% lead (black lead), and 2% tin. After years of material stockpiling, all older currencies were withdrawn in AD 1817, the sixteenth year of the reign, and a unified coinage system was implemented. Coins with the “生” radical in “隆” written as “正” are generally attributed to the early Gia Long period. In the mid-to-late Gia Long period, the character was more often rendered with the “生” radical, in variant scripts, or with heavy circular rims—features commonly associated with coins cast by the various furnaces under the Bảo Tuyền Mint.

Emperor Gia Long, born Nguyễn Phúc Ánh, was the founding sovereign of the Nguyễn dynasty of Vietnam. He survived the overthrow of the Nguyễn Lords by the Tây Sơn uprising and embarked on a 25-year-long campaign to restore his lineage. After repeated defeats and exile, he sought foreign support, notably from the French missionary Pigneau de Béhaine, who aided him in raising an army and navy and introducing Western military technologies. In AD 1802, he succeeded in defeating the Tây Sơn forces and reunifying Vietnam. He established the Nguyễn dynasty and adopted the regnal title Gia Long, renaming the state “Việt Nam.” His administration emulated Qing China’s bureaucratic model, instituting the Six Ministries and the imperial examination system, thereby centralising power and imposing cautious control over religious practice. Gia Long placed emphasis on educational, military, and fiscal reforms, and secured political legitimacy through tribute missions to the Qing court. He ruled until his death in AD 1820 and is regarded as the founder of Vietnam’s last dynastic regime.

物件編號: A3205

年代: 公元 1813-1819 年

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 22.5 x 22.6 x 0.4 mm

重量: 1.3 g

製造地: 北城鑄錢局

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚阮朝嘉隆帝所鑄行之「嘉隆通寶」，黃銅質。法重五分五厘(約合今2.01公克)，此錢約重三分六厘，較法重過輕，或為私鑄或後世倣鑄。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統之方孔圓錢。錢面錢文「嘉隆通寶」楷書，由上而下，由右至左對讀。字跡漫漶。錢幕錢穿右側有一圓點，稱「背右星」。

未建國前，阮福映作為阮主，便曾鑄行「嘉興通寶」。大越建國後，嘉隆元年(公元1802年)曾鑄錢如舊。至嘉隆二年(公元1803年)，於北城設寶貨局，始鑄「嘉隆通寶」。早期制度為寶貨局所轄各鑄戶私購銅料按所頒錢樣鑄錢，錢局再收稅，禁止樣式錯誤及私增設爐。後統歸錢局供應銅料，鑄錢仍由私人經營。嘉隆十二年(公元1813年)，增設寶泉局，擴增鑄戶。嘉隆十三年(公元1814年)，按清乾隆年間清錢錢法，以紅銅50%，白鉛(鋅)41.5%，烏鉛(鉛)6.5%，錫2%鑄背「六分」錢。經過長年蓄積儲量後，於嘉隆十六年(公元1817年)盡廢舊錢，統一錢制。「隆」字「生」旁寫為「正」者多來自嘉隆早期，中晚期則多寫為「生」旁、異書、重輪等，多為寶泉局各爐戶的鑄品。

嘉隆帝，名阮福映(Nguyễn Phúc Ánh)是越南阮朝的開國君主，他在西山起義推翻廣南阮主政權後倖存，開始長達二十五年的復國之路。早年多次遭西山軍追擊，他輾轉逃亡並尋求外援，特別依靠法國傳教士皮尼厄(Pigneau de Béhaine)的協助，籌建軍隊與海軍，並引進西方軍事技術。最終於公元1802年擊敗西山軍，統一越南，建立阮朝，自號嘉隆帝，改國號為「越南」。他仿效中國清朝制度，設立六部與科舉，強化中央集權，並對宗教採取審慎政策。嘉隆帝統治期間重視文教、軍事與財政體系的建設，並透過向清朝朝貢以鞏固正統地位。他在位至公元1820年去世，是越南近世封建統一的奠基者。