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Nguyen Dynasty
Silver 10 Lang Bar,
Emperor Tu Duc
阮朝
嗣德帝
十兩銀錠(光緒)
Item number: A38
Year: AD 1905-1912
Material: Silver
Weight: 369.2 g
Provenance: Stack’s Bowers Galleries 2023
Vietnam and China have had political and cultural exchanges since the Qin and Han dynasties, resulting in certain commonalities in their currencies. Due to the basic similarity in shape between Chinese and Vietnamese copper coins, the currencies of both nations have circulated mutually for an extended period. Vietnam’s currency has long been in use in southern China, although its lighter and thinner characteristics led to its prohibition by the Chinese government. Nonetheless, the continuous exchange of currency culture between the two countries, exemplified by Vietnam’s Mei Hao Cian(美號錢) inscribed with classical Chinese quotations, attests to profound cultural interactions.
Archaeological findings in both Vietnam and China further substantiate the close trade relations between the two nations. For instance, coins from the Han, Song, and Tang dynasties were unearthed in various locations in Vietnam, such as Tong Mo, Saigon, and Gao Leung, in AD 1991. In AD 1990, ancient Vietnamese coins like Si De Tong Bao were discovered in Guangxi, China, underscoring the intimate trade connections between the two countries.
In AD 1802, the Nguyen Dynasty established the independent state of Gia Long after overthrowing the Tay Son Dynasty. The Nguyen Dynasty can be divided into two periods: the independent period (AD 1802-1883) and the colonial period (AD 1883-1945). The signing of the “Treaty of Hue” with France in AD 1883 officially marked Vietnam as a French protectorate, initiating the colonial era.
Vietnam’s silver, commonly known as bar money, took the form of elongated bars weighing either ten or five taels and was a predominant currency before the colonization of Annam. Most of these bars were cast around AD 1833. Serving as the main subject matter of Annam’s domestic finance and taxation, these silver bars also flowed through trade into Southeast Asia, China, Japan, and other regions.
This 10 taels bar money bears later added inscriptions in Han characters “Guangxu”(光緒).
Jianbing Dai, Luqian Peng, Xiaorong Chen, The Cultural Exchange History of Ancient Currency between China and Other (England: Cambridge Scholars Publishing ), 2022.