Item number: A3949

Reference number: ANQP#20-1

Year: AD 1705-1719

Material: Bronze

Size: 25.0 x 24.9 x 0.5 mm

Weight: 3.4 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is an imitative reign-title coin named after Dazhong Xiangfu, the reign title used during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of the Northern Song dynasty.

The coin is a traditional square-holed round cash coin of the Sinographic cultural sphere. Both obverse and reverse bear inner and outer rims. The obverse inscription reads Xiangfu Yuanbao in regular script, the four characters being read in sequence from the top and then clockwise; all four differ from those found on authentic Xiangfu Yuanbao coins. The calligraphy is stiff and formal, resembling coin inscriptions of the Ming and Qing periods and later. The central hole is relatively broad, the outer rim is comparatively wide, and the characters are relatively large. In the character fu, the bamboo radical is written in the form gege. The reverse is plain, without pattern or inscription. The metal is dark reddish in colour, possibly owing to a relatively high lead content.

Among the Yongsheng Tongbao coins cast and circulated under Emperor Yuzong of the Later Lê dynasty in Vietnam, there is a variety bearing the character ji or si on the reverse; these are comparatively well made and may have been official issues. By contrast, the plain-reverse Yongsheng Tongbao coins are crudely made, with shallow obverse inscriptions. Excavated coins of the Five Dynasties and Song periods exhibiting similar fabric and style are referred to as the Yongsheng style. The Yongsheng style may in turn be divided into two branches according to copper colour: one is the more reddish Shaofu style, with a higher lead content; the other is the more yellowish Qianyuan style (though not brass). Within the Yongsheng style, there is a group of coins characterised by broad rims, wide central holes, careful workmanship, and relatively large diameters. These are of a quality closer to official cast coins than the ordinary Yongsheng style, and since Xiangfu Yuanbao stands at the head of this group, it is classified separately as the Xiangfu style. The issuing authority is unknown.

Emperor Zhenzong, personal name Zhao Heng, was the third emperor of the Song dynasty and a son of Emperor Taizong, Zhao Jiong. He ascended the throne in the 3rd year of the Zhidao reign, in AD 997, and remained in power until the 1st year of the Qianxing reign, in AD 1022, ruling for a total of twenty-five years. During his reign, he successively employed the reign titles Xianping, Jingde, Dazhong Xiangfu, Tianxi, and Qianxing. In the early part of his reign, Emperor Zhenzong largely inherited the political foundations established under Emperor Taizong. In governance, he attached importance to civil administration and continued the Song policy of esteeming Confucian learning and according privileged treatment to the scholar-official elite. During the first half of his reign, relations between the Northern Song and the Liao remained tense. In the 1st year of Jingde, in AD 1004, Liao forces advanced southward, and, at the forceful urging of the grand councillor Kou Zhun, Zhenzong personally went to Chanzhou to direct the defence. This ultimately led to the conclusion of the Chanyuan Covenant with the Liao, after which Song–Liao relations remained broadly peaceful for an extended period. Although this agreement secured peace through the payment of annual tribute, thereby bringing relative stability to the Northern Song’s northern frontier, Zhenzong gradually came to regard it as detrimental. In the middle and later years of his reign, he placed increasing emphasis on auspicious omens, the feng and shan sacrifices, and extraordinary signs associated with Daoism. Particularly during the Dazhong Xiangfu period, he repeatedly proclaimed the descent of heavenly texts, held grand ceremonial visits and related observances, and carried out the last fengshan sacrifice in Chinese history. After Zhenzong’s death, his son Zhao Zhen succeeded to the throne as Emperor Renzong.

In AD 1718, the Kangxi Emperor of Qing China dispatched envoys to Đại Việt and formally conferred upon Lê Dụ Tông the title “King of Annam”. In AD 1720, the era name was changed to Bảo Thái. In AD 1727, Lê Dụ Tông’s eldest son and crown prince, Lê Duy Tường, was deposed due to his poor relationship with Trịnh Cương. He was replaced by his younger half-brother, Lê Duy Phường, born to a consort of the Trịnh family. In AD 1729, under the arrangement of Trịnh Cương, Lê Dụ Tông abdicated in favour of Lê Duy Phường, who adopted a new era name and was posthumously known as Emperor Vĩnh Khánh. Lê Dụ Tông retired with the title of Grand Emperor (Thái Thượng Hoàng). That same year, Trịnh Cương died and was succeeded by his son, Trịnh Giang, who is historically characterised as decadent, cruel, and incompetent. In AD 1731, Lê Dụ Tông passed away. The following year, Trịnh Giang deposed Lê Duy Phường, demoting him to Duke of Hôn Đức, and later referred to him as the Deposed Emperor Lê. He then reinstated Lê Duy Tường to the throne as Emperor Lê Thuần Tông.

物件編號: A3949

參考書目編號: ANQP#20-1

年代: 公元 1705-1719 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 25.0 x 24.9 x 0.5 mm

重量: 3.4 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚仿鑄的年號錢，取北宋真宗時期的年號「大中祥符」而得名。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統的方孔圓錢。正背面均有內外廓，正面錢文為楷書「祥符元寶」，四字自上而右旋讀，與原「祥符元寶」四字均不同。其書體板正，似明清以降之錢文。錢穿較寬，外輪較寬，字體較大。「符」字「⺮」旁寫為「个个」。背面光素，無圖案、文字。幣材呈暗紅色，或因鉛含量較高所致。

越南後黎朝裕宗所鑄行的「永盛通寶」中，有一種背面有「己」或「巳」字的版型，製作較為精美，或許為官方鑄錢。與之相對，光背的「永盛通寶」製作粗糙，面文平淺。有出土類似形制及風格的五代及宋代的錢文錢，則稱為「永盛手」。「永盛手」依銅色可再分為兩支：一為含鉛量較高，銅色較紅「紹符手」；二為銅色較黃(但並非黃銅)的「乾元手」。「永盛手」中，有一類錢有著闊緣廣穿，製作精巧，錢徑較大的共同特徵，較之永盛手更接近官鑄錢的品質，以「祥符元寶」為首，因此另分為「祥符手」。鑄主不明。

宋真宗趙恆，為宋朝第三位皇帝，宋太宗趙炅之子，於至道三年(公元997年)即位，在位至乾興元年(公元1022年)，共二十五年。其在位期間先後使用咸平、景德、大中祥符、天禧、乾興五個年號。宋真宗即位初期，大體承繼太宗以來的統治基礎，政治上重視文治，延續宋代崇尚儒學、優禮士大夫的國策。其統治前期，北宋與遼朝關係緊張，至景德元年(公元1004年)遼軍南下，真宗於宰相寇準力請下親至澶州督戰，最終與遼訂立「澶淵之盟」，此後宋遼大致維持長期和平局面。此盟雖以歲幣換取和平，然亦使北宋北境得以相對安定，但真宗逐漸視其為害。真宗朝中後期，日益重視符瑞、封禪與道教祥異之說。尤其大中祥符年間，多次宣稱天書降臨，舉行朝謁等盛典，並進行中國歷史上最後一次封禪。真宗逝後，其子趙禎即位，是為宋仁宗。

黎裕宗(Lê Dụ Tông)，本名黎維禟(Lê Duy Đường，也作黎維禎)，公元1705至1729年在位，是越南黎中興朝第十一位皇帝。統治期間名義上為國君，實權則掌握在鄭主手中，皇權形同虛設。公元1705年，黎維禟由鄭主鄭根(Trịnh Căn)扶位。公元1709年，鄭根逝，鄭棡(Trịnh Cương)繼位鄭主。鄭棡於任內進行多項改革，設武學、均丁田、改科舉、度田畝，後世來看未能解決黎中興朝困境，但於傳統史書中評價頗佳，而因鄭主皆以黎皇之名執政，連帶黎裕宗亦受到褒揚。公元1718年，清康熙帝遣使大越，封安南國王。公元1720年改元保泰。公元1727年，原立為太子的長子黎維祥(Lê Duy Tường)因與鄭棡關係不睦，被強行廢黜，改由次子，鄭后所出之黎維祊(Lê Duy Phường)繼任太子；公元1729年，黎裕宗在鄭棡安排下禪位給黎維祊，以年號稱，是為永慶帝，自己則退居為太上皇。同年鄭棡去世，由其子鄭杠(Trịnh Giang)繼任鄭主，鄭杠史評荒淫奢侈、殘暴無能。公元1731年，黎裕宗病逝。翌年，鄭杠廢黜黎維祊為昏德公，後亦稱黎廢帝。鄭杠重新擁立黎維祥即位，是為黎純宗。