Item number: A3931

Year: AD 1428-1802

Material: Bronze

Size: 23.7 x 23.7 x 0.7 mm

Weight: 2.7 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is an imitation Zhidao yuanbao, modelled on the coin cast under Emperor Taizong, the second emperor of the Northern Song, using his final reign title, Zhidao. During his twenty-one years on the throne, Emperor Taizong employed five reign titles in succession.

The coin is a round cash coin with a square central hole, conforming to the traditional form of coinage within the Sinosphere. On the obverse appears the regular-script inscription Zhidao yuanbao, read in sequence from top, right, bottom, and left, all derived from Emperor Taizong’s own calligraphy. In the character dao 道, the bottom stroke turns at an angle; the turning strokes of yuan 元 are stiff and awkward. The character bao 寶 is said to have been simplified into three circles, hence the designation “turtle bao”, though this feature cannot be identified with certainty because the inscription is worn. The piece was probably produced by taking a circulating Northern Song Zhidao yuanbao as the model, making a mould from it, and then recutting the details with a knife. The coin is relatively small, with a comparatively broad outer rim. It is rather rare and, as an Annamese imitation struck for use as trade coinage, is often unearthed together with hoards of Ming coins. It was probably produced by the Guangnan Kingdom; however, since coin moulds for Zhidao yuanbao have also been excavated at Võ Nhai in Thái Nguyên Province, Vietnam, the possibility that it was instead cast by the Later Lê dynasty, which was contending with the Guangnan Kingdom during the same period, cannot be excluded. The reverse is flat.

Emperor Taizong of Song, Zhao Kuangyi, was the younger brother of the founding emperor, Zhao Kuangyin. Zhao Kuangyi’s succession is marred by the suspicion of fratricide, famously known as the “Candle Shadows and Axe Sounds” incident, coupled with several military failures during his northern campaigns against the Liao Dynasty. Consequently, he shifted his focus towards cultural endeavours, making it his mission to promote Confucianism. The two brothers, Emperor Taizu and Taizong, are often regarded as embodying the military and civil foundations of the Song Dynasty, respectively.

Emperor Taizu, during the Chunhua period (AD 990-AD 994), personally inscribed the calligraphy for the new currency “Chunhua Yuanbao,” making it the first coin in Chinese history to feature the emperor’s handwriting, known as “Imperial Script Money” (御書錢).

The coinage system of the Northern and Southern Song was complex. Among the officially circulating issues, both copper-alloy and iron coins were employed, functioning in tandem with paper money as a counterbalancing medium. Silver, meanwhile, gradually assumed an increasingly important role. Copper cash were issued with face values ranging from zhe-1 to zhe-10. Each circuit minted coins according to local demand: some used only copper cash, some only iron cash, and others a mixture of both. Calligraphic styles likewise varied, including regular script, clerical script, seal script, and Slender Gold, among others. In terms of material, the coinage is often described broadly as “bronze”, but in practice it was chiefly a ternary alloy of copper, tin, and lead. A Song-period compilation, the Zhujia Shenpin Danfa, includes the Rihua Zi Diangeng Fa, attributed to a Five Dynasties fangshi (Daoist technical specialist), which records a method for producing brass by treating red copper with calamine (lu ganshi). On this basis, there is also the view that brass-cast coins may have been used as “mother coins” (pattern coins for mould-making), though the matter requires further verification.

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: A3931

年代: 公元 1428-1802 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 23.7 x 23.7 x 0.7 mm

重量: 2.7 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是仿鑄的「至道元寶」，為北宋的第二任皇帝宋太宗，使用其最後一個年號所鑄造。宋太宗統治的21年間，前後使用過五個年號。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統的方孔圓錢。正面錢文楷書「至道元寶」，自上而右旋讀，皆出自宋太宗的親筆書法。「寶」字「貝」旁與「道」字「首」旁二橫劃簡略為圓圈，因此得名「龜寶」。錢體較小，外輪較寬。頗為罕見，作為安南仿鑄的貿易錢，常與明錢窖藏一同出土。應為廣南國所造，但越南太原省武崖曾出土至道元寶錢範，故也無法排除由同期與廣南國相爭的後黎朝所造的可能性。幣材應為黃銅。背面平夷。

宋太宗趙匡義為宋朝開國皇帝趙匡胤的弟弟，由於趙匡義的繼承深陷殺害哥哥的「燭影斧聲」嫌疑，和數次北伐遼國的軍事失敗，使他轉而推行文化工作以發揚儒學為己任。宋太祖和太宗兩兄弟被視為一武一文，奠定宋朝的基礎。宋太祖更在淳化年間(公元990至994年)，親手書寫新貨幣「淳化元寶」書法，為中國歷史上第一種皇帝親筆書寫的「御書錢」。

兩宋幣制複雜，正式行用的幣材便有銅鐵兩種，配合紙幣相權。白銀則逐漸佔有重要地位。銅幣面額折一至折十不等。各路依需求各自鑄錢，有些只用銅錢，有些只用鐵錢，有些銅鐵兼用。字體則楷書、隸書、篆書、瘦金體等不一而足。幣材則多以青銅為主，實則為銅錫鉛三元合金。大約宋代所輯錄的《諸家神品丹法》，其中便有收錄五代方士所著《日華子點庚法》，以赤銅和爐甘石點煉黃銅。因此，亦有黃銅鑄錢為母錢之說，具體待考。

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。