Item number: A4368

Year: AD 1787-1789

Material: Bronze

Size: 23.1 x 23.0 x 0.6 mm

Weight: 2.2 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This specimen is a Dai Viet imitation of the Zhouyuan Tongbao.The original Zhouyuan Tongbao was issued during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period of Chinese history by Chai Rong, Emperor Shizong of the Later Zhou, who famously ordered the destruction of Buddhist statues to provide the bronze necessary for minting.

The typology of the coin follows the traditional round coin with a square hole prevalent within the Sinospheric cultural circle. The obverse features a wide outer rim with the legend Zhouyuan Tongbao, read top-to-bottom and right-to-left. While the original legend was executed in clerical script, certain characters in this imitation, such as Tong, are closer to regular script; the character Bao resembles the Xiangfu hand of the Xiangfu Yuanbao coinage, generally attributed to Emperor Lê Dụ Tông. On the reverse, the character Zheng is positioned below the square hole. Historically, the only coinage featuring the character Zheng on the reverse is the Zhaotong Tongbao struck by Emperor Lê Mẫn Đế, which shares a similar calligraphic style. The character Zheng may denote a specific location or mint, though this requires further investigation. The imitation of Sinic legends was likely intended to facilitate maritime or cross-border trade.

The production of the original Zhouyuan Tongbao commenced in AD 955, the second year of the Xiande era. Faced with a severe copper shortage persisting since the late Tang Dynasty, Emperor Shizong procured copper ore from the neighbouring kingdom of Goryeo and prohibited the private hoarding of copper implements domestically. Furthermore, he confiscated monastic property and melted bronze Buddhist statues to facilitate minting. Emperor Shizong established dozens of large furnaces within the palace grounds to personally supervise the production process. Modelled after the Kaiyuan Tongbao of the Tang Dynasty, these coins were of the highest quality for the period. Due to their origins in molten Buddhist icons, the Zhouyuan Tongbao acquired a folk reputation for miraculous healing properties; during the Ming and Qing dynasties, they were frequently sought after to be worn as protective amulets. Consequently, imitations have been produced throughout subsequent eras.

Emperor Lê Mẫn Đế (Lê Duy Kỳ) was the final sovereign of the Later Lê Dynasty. Following the Tay Son northward expedition in AD 1786, the power of the Trinh lords, who held de facto control, collapsed. In AD 1787, upon the death of Emperor Lê Hiển Tông, Lê Mẫn Đế ascended the throne under the era name Zhaotong. Although he briefly exercised personal rule without interference, his practical jurisdiction was extremely limited. Regarding fiscal matters, the court, facing the exhaustion of the treasury, ordered the collection of bronze statues and implements for minting. However, the decline of central authority rendered it impossible to regulate provincial mints or the transport of raw materials. This led to a proliferation of illegal private minting and a multitude of disparate types that could not be suppressed. Shortly thereafter, the Tay Son forces launched a second northward campaign and captured Thăng Long (modern-day Hanoi). Emperor Lê Mẫn Đế was forced to flee through Lang Son into Qing territory, where he petitioned for military intervention to restore his throne. In late AD 1788, the Qianlong Emperor dispatched an expeditionary force led by Sun Shiyi and Fu Kangan. Nevertheless, in the first lunar month of AD 1789, the Tay Son leader Nguyễn Huệ personally led his army north, defeating the Qing forces at Cotton Hole (Mianhua Dong) and Dong Da. Emperor Lê Mẫn Đế fled to the Qing Empire once more, where he was reportedly compelled to adopt the Manchu tonsure and dress; he died in Beijing in AD 1793. He was posthumously honoured as Emperor Lê Mẫn Đế, with the title Mẫn signifying grief for the lost state.

物件編號: A4368

年代: 公元 1787-1789 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 23.1 x 23.0 x 0.6 mm

重量: 2.2 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚大越仿鑄的「周元通寶」。原為中國歷史上的五代十國時期，後周的第二位統治者周世宗柴榮，命令以摧毀佛像鑄造錢幣而出名的「周元通寶」。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統的方孔圓錢。正面闊緣，錢文「周元通寶」，自上而下，由右至左對讀。原為隸書，此仿鑄品中如「通」則字等則近楷；「寶」字則近似一般認為是黎裕宗所鑄的祥符手「祥符元寶」錢文。錢背錢穿下方有「正」，歷史上錢文背正者，應僅有黎愍帝所鑄「昭統通寶」，錢文風格也類似，而「正」字可能為紀地或紀局，詳情待考。仿漢地錢文則可能是為境外貿易之用。

周元通寶為顯德2年(公元955年) 起鑄造，周世宗面對唐朝末年以來，銅錢缺乏的困局，一面向鄰國高麗購買鑄造錢幣所需的銅礦，另一方面，在國內下令禁止民間私藏銅器。此外，更沒收佛寺財產，以及把銅製佛像鑄造為錢幣。周世宗並在宮廷內設立幾十座大爐灶，親自督導錢幣的鑄造過程。周世宗仿效唐朝的開元通寶鑄幣，為同時期品質最為上等的錢幣。而周元通寶以佛像鑄造的背景，在民間被冠上能醫治難症的神奇傳聞，甚至在明清兩代會有人特意購買周元通寶作為護身符配戴。也因此，歷代均有仿鑄。

黎愍帝(Lê Mẫn Đế)，本名黎維祁(Lê Duy Kỳ)，是後黎朝末代皇帝。公元1786年西山軍北伐後，掌控實權的鄭主勢力瓦解。公元1787年，黎顯宗駕崩，黎愍帝即位，年號「昭統」，在短時間內不受掣肘地親政，但其實際統治空間極為有限。以財政為例，即位後，由於財政枯竭，朝廷下令蒐羅各地銅像、銅器以鑄錢，但其實因為中央衰頹，已經無法管控地方鑄幣，遑論控制銅料的運輸，於是私鑄泛濫，版型繁多，禁而不止。不久後，西山軍第二次北上，攻佔昇龍城(今河內)，黎愍帝被迫出逃，經諒山潰退至清朝境內。黎愍帝向清朝上奏請兵，期望清軍扶他復位。公元1788年底，清乾隆帝出兵援助，派孫士毅、福康安等人率軍南下，護送黎愍帝回越。然而公元1789年正月，西山領袖阮惠親自率軍，再次北上，在棉花洞與洞多一帶迎戰清軍，大破清兵，黎愍帝再度逃往清朝，他在清朝據稱被迫剃髮易服，並於公元1793年病逝北京。後人追尊其為黎愍帝，「愍」含哀悼亡國之義。