Item number: A3207

Year: AD 1827

Material: Brass

Size: 25.5 x 25.8 x 0.9 mm

Weight: 3.95 g

Manufactured by: Bắc Thành Mint Bereau

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a “Gia Long Thông Bảo” coin cast posthumously under Emperor Minh Mạng of the Nguyễn dynasty, made of brass. Standard specimens weigh over nine phân (approximately 3.3 grams), while this example weighs approximately ten phân and one li. Its face value was equivalent to three white-lead cash coins.

The coin follows the traditional square-holed round format common in 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 coin is relatively large, with expansive calligraphy and clearly defined brushstrokes. The reverse is plain and uninscribed.

Before the official founding of the Nguyễn dynasty, Nguyễn Phúc Ánh—later Emperor Gia Long—had already issued a coinage titled “Gia Hưng Thông Bảo” while serving as a regional lord. Following the establishment of Đại Việt in AD 1802, coins continued to be minted in the same style. In AD 1803, a central mint known as the Bảo Hóa Bureau was established in the Northern Citadel, initiating the production of “Gia Long Thông Bảo” coins. Under the early minting system, local furnaces under the Bureau privately acquired copper and cast coins based on government-issued prototypes. Taxes were collected by the mint, and deviations in style or unauthorized furnace operations were strictly prohibited. Later, copper was supplied directly by the mint, although casting remained in private hands. In AD 1813, the Bảo Tuyền Bureau was established, and the number of licensed furnaces expanded. By AD 1814, new coins inscribed with “six phân” on the reverse were introduced, cast from a standardized alloy comprising 50% red copper, 41.5% zinc (white lead), 6.5% lead (black lead), and 2% tin, following Qing monetary standards. After several years of stockpiling copper reserves, all previous coinage was withdrawn in AD 1817, and a unified coinage system was implemented. Coins in which the “生” radical in the character “隆” is rendered as “正” typically date from the early Gia Long period, while those bearing the “生” radical, variant scripts, or double-rim designs are more often attributed to the Bảo Tuyền Bureau in the mid-to-late period.

In AD 1827 (the eighth year of Minh Mạng), a special issue of ten thousand strings of copper cash was posthumously cast to commemorate Emperor Gia Long’s founding achievements; these were distributed to regional government treasuries for storage and were not approved for circulation until AD 1839 (the twentieth year of Minh Mạng). Emperor Gia Long, born Nguyễn Phúc Ánh, was the founding ruler of the Nguyễn dynasty. After surviving the fall of the southern Nguyễn regime during the Tây Sơn uprising, he began a prolonged campaign of restoration that lasted twenty-five years. Pursued repeatedly by Tây Sơn forces, he sought foreign assistance, especially from the French missionary Pigneau de Béhaine, who helped him raise troops, build a navy, and introduce Western military techniques. In AD 1802, Gia Long defeated the Tây Sơn and unified the country, establishing the Nguyễn dynasty and adopting the reign title “Gia Long,” renaming the nation “Việt Nam.” He modeled his government on the Qing dynasty, instituting a six-ministry system and civil service examinations, thereby strengthening central authority. His rule emphasized education, military organization, and fiscal administration, while maintaining a cautious approach to religion. Through sustained tribute missions to the Qing court, he secured external legitimacy for his reign and laid the foundations for the unified imperial state in early modern Vietnam.

Emperor Minh Mạng, born Nguyễn Phúc Kiểu, was the second ruler of the Nguyễn dynasty, reigning from AD 1820 to 1841. He is regarded as one of the most capable monarchs in Vietnamese history for his wide-ranging administrative and institutional reforms. He modeled the state apparatus after Qing institutions, establishing six central ministries and dividing the country into thirty-one provinces, each governed by officials appointed directly by the court. He expanded the civil examination system to promote Confucian learning and to cultivate a class of scholar-officials loyal to the throne. In AD 1839, he changed the national name from Đại Việt to Đại Nam in an effort to assert sovereignty and distance the monarchy from the Qing-derived appellation “An Nam,” although the tributary relationship with China remained in place. Minh Mạng also adopted a resolutely anti-Western stance, particularly toward Catholic missionaries, whom he saw as threats to the Confucian social order. He issued multiple anti-Christian edicts and persecuted missionaries, straining relations with France and contributing to the conditions that would later justify French intervention. In terms of monetary policy, he enforced a standardized copper coinage system, with many coins bearing inscriptions indicating their weight and value on the reverse. Private minting was strictly prohibited. Through regulation of script style and coin design, the state asserted symbolic and material control over the monetary system.

物件編號: A3207

年代: 公元 1827 年

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 25.5 x 25.8 x 0.9 mm

重量: 3.95 g

製造地: 北城鑄錢局

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚阮朝明命帝所追鑄之「嘉隆通寶」，黃銅質。均重九分(約合今3.3公克)以上，此錢約重十分一厘。幣值為一枚當三枚白鉛錢。

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。錢體較大，文字舒展，筆鋒明顯。錢幕光素無文。

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。

明命八年(公元1827年)，為紀念嘉隆帝開國功勳，追鑄銅錢萬緡，送各地官庫儲存。明命二十年(公元1839年)，始獲准實際行用。

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。

明命帝，名阮福晈(Nguyễn Phúc Kiểu)，是阮朝第二位皇帝，公元1820至1841年在位。任內期間推動大規模的中央集權與制度化改革，被視為越南歷史上最有作為的君主之一。他仿效清朝設立六部，將全國劃分為三十一省，由中央派任官員統治，並擴充科舉制度以提倡儒學，培養忠於皇室的士人階層，進一步鞏固統治基礎。公元1839年，他將國號由「大越」改為「大南」，試圖擺脫「安南」作為清朝附庸的意涵，強調越南的主權地位，儘管仍維持朝貢體制。對西方勢力，明命帝採取強硬的排斥政策，特別是對天主教傳教活動視為對傳統家國秩序的威脅，多次頒布禁教令並打壓傳教士，導致法越關係緊張，成為後來法國干預的遠因。在貨幣政策方面，他推行標準化銅錢制度，錢幣背面常刻有錢文紀重以及紀值，並嚴禁私鑄，透過統一樣式與書體展現朝廷對經濟與文化象徵的掌控。