Item number: A4723

Reference number: KM#424

Year: AD 1848-1883

Material: Silver

Size: 31.0 x 31.0 mm

Weight: 7.39 g

Manufactured by: Vũ Kho Ngự Tiền Xưởng (Imperial Arsenal Mint), Huế

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2026

This is a silver Tự Đức Thông Bảo (嗣德通寶) presentation coin weighing two mace, representing the fourth class within the hierarchy of this presentation issue.

The coin conforms to the traditional round shape with a square central perforation characteristic of the East Asian Sinosphere. The obverse bears the inscription ‘Tự Đức Thông Bảo’ (嗣德通寶). On the reverse, the characters ‘Nhị Nghi’ (二儀) are aligned vertically above and below the square piercing. Disposed to the right and left of the piercing are representations of the sun and moon, respectively, encircled by auspicious clouds. The term ‘Nhị Nghi’ originates from the I Ching (Classic of Changes), designating heaven and earth as well as yin and yang; by extension, it symbolises conjugal harmony and the nurturing of all creation, reflecting the intention of the Nguyễn rulers to imbue award coinage with cosmic order and Confucian social ethics.

Historically, gold and silver in Vietnam served principally as weighed uncoined bullion for large-value transactions and as media of exchange in external trade, whilst among the general populace they functioned predominantly as stores of wealth. Following the establishment of the Nguyễn Dynasty, the imperial court centralised minting authority, instituting a bimetallic monetary system in which standard cast copper-alloy and zinc cash coins (tiền chế) circulated alongside precious metals in the form of ingots and coins. With regard to precious metals, the authorities and merchants customarily cast them into rectangular ingots designated as nén, stamped on the upper surface with the imperial reign title in Chinese characters. When Spanish and Mexican silver dollars entered the Far East in immense quantities during the eighteenth century AD, Vietnam initially persisted in melting and recasting them into nén; only subsequently did silver and gold coins (tiền) gradually emerge. Following the dynasty’s foundation, the emperors placed paramount importance on utilising coinage as an instrument of political patronage and reward. Commencing with Emperor Minh Mạng, large commemorative copper coins bearing maxims from the Confucian classics (mỹ hiệu đại đồng tiền) and ‘flying dragon’ silver coins (phi long ngân tệ) were struck or cast to bestow favour upon meritorious officials, frequently adorned with hanging tassels to serve a dual function as honour medallions. Amongst these, the ‘flying dragon’ silver coins possessed a relatively low fineness despite their high nominal value, which incited widespread illicit counterfeiting and thoroughly discredited the currency—a circumstance that probably prompted subsequent monarchs to elevate the fineness of later presentation silver issues. As an insignia of honour, the tiền was generally subordinate in rank to the jade plaque (bội) and the sounding-stone pendant (khánh), though at times it ranked immediately below the khánh, suspended directly from its base. After the AD 1920s, in conformity with Western honour systems, these coins were occasionally worn suspended from ribbons. Beyond rewarding military or administrative merit, tiền were also distributed as commemorative honours on occasions such as the Lunar New Year, the Holy Longevity Festival (Thánh Thọ Tiết) celebrating filial veneration of the elderly, and the imperial jubilees marking the Emperor’s fiftieth, sixtieth, and seventieth birthdays.

In the sixth year of Thiệu Trị (AD 1846), the imperial court first authorised the minting of a five-tiered set of gold and silver coins comprising Nhất Nguyên (One Primal Origin), Nhị Nghi (Two Primal Forces), Tam Thọ (Three Longevities), Tứ Mỹ (Four Virtues), and Ngũ Phúc (Five Blessings). Following his accession in the first year of Tự Đức (AD 1848), Emperor Tự Đức (Nguyễn Phúc Thì) maintained this institutional precedent. In the sixth lunar month of that inaugural year, the Imperial Mint situated within the Armoury (Vũ Khố) of the Imperial Citadel of Huế cast the Tự Đức Thông Bảo (嗣德通寶) series of gold and silver coins utilising silver of 80 per cent fineness. This five-tier series increased incrementally in weight with the mace (tiền) serving as the unit of account: the first tier, Nhất Nguyên or Nhất Đức, weighed one mace (approximately 3.8 grammes); the second tier, Nhị Nghi, weighed two mace (approximately 7.35 to 7.5 grammes); the third tier, Tam Thọ, weighed three mace (approximately 11 grammes); the fourth tier, Tứ Mỹ, weighed four mace (approximately 14.5 grammes); and the fifth tier, Ngũ Phúc, weighed five mace (approximately 18 grammes). Provided that the prescribed fineness and official regulations were strictly observed, the authorities permitted private individuals to recast them, thereby rendering the demarcation between genuine imperial issues and private casts remarkably indistinct.

Emperor Tự Đức (Nguyễn Phúc Thì, born Hồng Nhậm) was the second son of Emperor Thiệu Trị (temple name Hiến Tổ). He acceded to the throne in AD 1847 at the age of nineteen, adopting the era name Tự Đức the following year (AD 1848), and reigned for thirty-six years (AD 1847–1883). Highly erudite and steeped in classical learning, he was one of the most culturally cultivated and accomplished Confucian scholars amongst the Nguyễn monarchs. Throughout his reign, he prioritised the civil service examinations for talent recruitment, personally debated canonical texts with senior court officials, presided over the compilation of the Khâm định Việt sử Thông giám cương mục (Imperially Commissioned Annotated Text and Commentary of the Comprehensive History of Viet), and authored works including the Ngự chế Việt sử tổng vịnh tập (Imperial Anthology of Odes on Vietnamese History). However, his governance was markedly conservative; in foreign affairs, he strictly enforced edicts proscribing Christianity and maintained a policy of national seclusion, severely penalising foreign missionaries and domestic Catholic converts. This provoked acute internal social unrest and afforded Western imperialist powers a pretext for armed aggression. Commencing in AD 1858, a joint Franco-Spanish fleet bombarded Tourane (Đà Nẵng) and seized Gia Định (Saigon), plunging Vietnam into an unprecedented colonial crisis. Subjected to unremitting military pressure, Emperor Tự Đức was compelled to sign the Treaty of Saigon in AD 1862, ceding the three eastern provinces of Cochinchina; looked on helplessly as French forces annexed the three western provinces in AD 1867; and ratified the Second Treaty of Saigon in AD 1874. Beset by domestic strife and foreign encroachments, he endeavoured to recover the lost territories through diplomatic negotiation and summoned Qing imperial forces to suppress regional rebellions and oppose French expansion, yet his efforts ultimately proved unavailing. Deeply afflicted by physical infirmity and imperial anxieties, he died in June AD 1883 at the age of fifty-five, leaving behind a severely weakened realm facing the progressive loss of its national sovereignty.

物件編號: A4723

參考書目編號: KM#424

年代: 公元 1848-1883 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 31.0 x 31.0 mm

重量: 武庫御錢場，順化

製造地: 7.39 g

來源: 福君錢幣 2026

這是一枚銀質嗣德通寶賞錢，重二錢，為該系列賞錢規格中第四等者。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統的方孔圓錢。正面錢文為「嗣德通寶」。背面於方穿上下豎列「二儀」。方穿右及左側則分列日、月，四周圍繞祥雲。「二儀」源自《易經》，指代天地與陰陽，亦延伸象徵夫妻和睦與萬物化育，體現阮朝統治者將宇宙秩序與社會倫理融入賞錢的意圖。

自古以來，越南的黃金與白銀主要作為大額交易的稱量貨幣與對外貿易的支付媒介，民間則多作財富貯藏之用。到了阮朝建國後，朝廷將鑄幣權收歸中央，建立了以「制錢（銅、白鉛錢）」與「貴金屬（金銀錠及金銀錢）」並行的複本位貨幣體系。對於貴金屬，朝廷或商家則習慣將其製作成稱為「年 (Nen)」的矩形金塊，在上方以漢字打印年號。公元18世紀，西班牙和墨西哥銀元大舉湧入遠東之際，越南起先仍習慣將其重鑄為「年」，後續才逐漸出現銀或金質的「錢」。阮朝建立後，皇帝極為重視將貨幣作為政治賞賜的工具，自明命帝起開鑄帶有儒家經典銘文的「美號大銅錢」與「飛龍銀幣」等加賞功臣，頒賜時常加繫垂纓，使其兼具獎章功能。其中，飛龍銀幣成色不高，卻價值高昂，引起盜鑄，使飛龍銀幣信譽掃地，這可能也是後繼者鑄賞銀時提高成色的理由。作為榮勳，錢的等級一般次於牌（Boi）與磬（Khanh），有時僅次於磬，配戴串接於磬的下方。公元1920年代之後，為與西方制度相適應，錢有時以綬帶來配戴。錢除酬功外，新年、以敬老為主旨的聖壽節，或皇帝的50、60和70歲大壽上也會頒發「錢」作為紀念和犒賞。

紹治六年（公元1846年），朝廷首度鼓鑄了由「一元」、「二儀」、「三壽」、「四美」、「五福」組成的五級金銀錢套幣。嗣德帝（阮福時）於嗣德元年（公元1848年）即位後，繼承此制。於嗣德元年六月，位於順化皇城內的武庫御錢場，以成色八成的銀鼓鑄「嗣德通寶」系列金銀錢。這套五級金銀錢以「錢（mace）」為重量單位進行階梯式遞增：第一級「一元」或「一德」重一錢（約3.8克），第二級「二儀」或重二錢（約7.35至7.5克），第三級「三壽」重三錢（約11克），第四級「四美」重四錢（約14.5克），第五級「五福」重五錢（約18克）。只要符合成色與規制，官方便許可私人進行翻造，使得真品與偽品間的界線十分模糊。

嗣德帝（阮福時，原名洪任）為阮朝憲祖紹治帝之第二子，於公元1847年以19歲之齡繼位（翌年公元1848年改元嗣德），在位長達36年（公元1847至1883年）。他博覽群書、博古通今，是阮朝極具文化素養與儒學造詣的皇帝，在位期間注重科舉選才，親自與官員研討典籍，並主持編纂《欽定越史通鑑綱目》與撰寫《御製越史總詠集》等著作。然而，其性格較為保守，對外堅持嚴厲的禁教與閉關鎖國政策，將洋人傳教士與天主教徒嚴加懲處，致使內部社會動盪不安，並給予西方列強發動侵略的藉口。自公元1858年起，法西聯軍炮擊沱灢並攻陷嘉定，越南面臨前所未有的殖民危機，嗣德帝迫於軍事壓力，先後於公元1862年簽訂《壬戌和約》割讓南圻東三省，公元1867年眼睜睜看著南圻西三省遭法軍吞併，並於公元1874年簽訂《甲戌和約》。面對內外交困的局勢，他雖曾嘗試透過談判爭取贖回失土，並引進清軍協助平匪與抵禦法軍，但終究無力回天，最終於公元1883年6月心力交瘁而駕崩，享壽55歲，留下了國勢大衰、主權逐步淪喪的危局。