Bao Dai Merit Medal Third class

(Full Size)

Item number: M136

Year: AD 1938

Material: Silver

Size: 40.8 x 36.0 x 1.3 mm

Weight: 13.7 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a silver Third Class ” Bao Dai Merit Medal” established by the last emperor of the Nguyen dynasty, Bao Dai, in AD 1938, with a total of three grades. The obverse of the medal features a central sun motif surrounded by decorative flames. Around the sun are six circles containing Chinese characters forming the phrase ” Dai Nam Hoang De Bao Jian,” with a pearl border embellishing the outer edge. On the central disk of the reverse side are the characters “Tam Hang” (Third Class), encircled by a five-clawed dragon along with flame and cloud motifs.

During the rule of the Nguyen dynasty, the region known as Vietnam today was referred to as “Dai Nam.” Prior to the Nguyen dynasty, Vietnam may have had a system similar to European medals, but there is a lack of precise records. It wasn’t until AD 1840, when the French arrived in Vietnam, that Europeans first documented the Nguyen dynasty’s court in Hue having a medal award system similar to the West.

In Vietnam, medals are locally referred as “Tien”, and in French as “Coin of honour,” due to their close resemblance to local currency coins. This is because Vietnamese currency systems were largely influenced by Chinese culture, with most coins made of copper or zinc with square holes. Precious metals like gold or silver were often crafted into rectangular ingots called “Nen” by the court or merchants, with the era name stamped in Chinese characters on top. In the 18th century, with a significant influx of Spanish and Mexican silver coins into the Far East, Vietnam initially continued the practiseof recasting them into “Nen” before gradually shifted to producing silver or gold “Tien.”

During the Nguyen Dynasty, the court would cast gold and silver into “Tiens” as honorary rewards or appeasements for civil and military officials. In addition to this, on special occasions such as the New Year, the Elder Worshipping Festival, or the emperor’s 50th, 60th, and 70th birthdays, “Tien” would also be awarded as commemorative and reward tokens. Recipients could wear them by threading a rope through the central hole of the “Tien,” often adorned with tassells at the bottom. The grade of “Tien” could be roughly determined by the metal used. The highest grade, “Kim Tien” (Gold Tien), had four levels, initially made of real gold during the early Nguyen Dynasty but later transitioned to gold plating or basic metals. The next grade, “Ngan Tien” (Silver Tien), had three levels and was distinguished by terms like “Third Class,” sometimes only bearing the era name without additional markings.

Sometimes, recipients would only receive titles from the court and had to purchase “Tien” privately through informal channels. During the French colonial period, influenced by Western-style medals, “Tien” started to feature tricolour green-yellow-red ribbons with various colour combinations. “Tien” produced during the end of the French colonial rule often used casting techniques, resulting in a rougher appearance and reduced weight compared to earlier versions.

Bao Dại, as the last emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty, initiated a coup d’état in March AD 1945, declaring Vietnam’s independence from French domination and renaming the country the Empire of Vietnam. However, Vietnam faced internal political complexities, and in August of the same year, the Viet Minh launched the “August Revolution.” Faced with immense political pressure, Bao Dại abdicated the throne, and transferred power to the leader of the Viet Minh, Ho Chi Minh, thereby ending Vietnam’s imperial history.

^{Viet Minh – Vietnam Independent Allies Association, was a left-wing nationalist political alliance founded by the Indochina Communist Party on May 19, AD 1941, with the public purpose of ‘uniting all classes of people’ and the goal of establishing a Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Their aim was to work together to expel Japan and France, thereby achieving complete independence for Vietnam.”}

三等保大榮譽獎章

(官方版)

物件編號: M136

年代: 公元 1938 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 40.8 x 36.0 x 1.3 mm

重量: 13.7 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚公元1938年，越南阮朝末代皇帝保大制定的三等「保大榮譽獎章」，其材質為銀，總計有三個等級。獎章正面的中央有一顆太陽，周遭帶有裝飾性的火焰。同時有六個圓圈環繞著太陽，圈內的漢字共同組成「大南皇帝寶鑑」字樣。正面的最外圍以珠圈為飾。背面中央的圓盤有「三項」二字，圓盤周圍被一隻五爪龍環繞，並伴有火焰和雲紋飾。

阮朝統治期間，以國號「大南」稱呼今日越南這片土地。儘管在阮朝以前，越南可能有類似歐洲的獎章制度卻苦於缺乏確切紀錄。直到公元1840年，法國人抵達越南後，歐洲人才首次記載阮朝在順化的宮廷中，有一套類似西方的獎章獎勵機制。

越南的獎章在當地稱作「錢 (Tien)」，法語稱其為「榮譽錢幣」。因為這些「錢」跟當地錢幣的外觀非常相似。由於長期受到中華文化圈影響，越南的貨幣型制多半是以銅或鋅鑄造的方孔錢。黃金或白銀等貴金屬，朝廷或商家則習慣將其製作成稱為「年 (nen)」的矩形金塊，並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」。

阮朝宮廷會將黃金和白銀鑄成「錢」，作為犒賞或安撫文武官的榮譽獎勵。除此之外在特殊慶典，例如：新年、主旨是敬老的頌神節或皇帝的50、60和70歲大壽上也會頒發「錢」作為紀念和犒賞。受獎者能以繩子穿繫「錢」中央的孔洞配戴，並且往往在下方飾有流蘇裝飾。從金屬材質就能大致判斷「錢」的等級，最高等的「金錢(Kim Tien)」有四級，在阮朝早期以真金製成，到後期逐漸改為鍍金或基本金屬。次一等的「銀錢(Ngan Tien)」能細分為三級，以諸如「三項」的級距稱呼作為標示外，有一些是僅有年號的型制。

有些時候得獎者僅從宮廷獲得名銜，故只得依循私人管道購買「錢」。法國殖民時期受到西式獎章影響，「錢」開始加上綠黃紅三色和不同配色的綬帶。法國結束其殖民統治時期製造的「錢」，多採取壓鑄工法且外表較為粗糙，重量亦有所削減。

保大作為阮朝末代皇帝，於公元1945年3月發動政變，宣布脫離法國擺佈並將國號改為越南帝國。然而越南內部亦存在複雜的政治派系，同年8月越盟發動「八月革命」，保大面對龐大的政治壓力宣布退位，將權力交移給越盟的領導者胡志明，結束越南的帝制歷史。

^{越盟全名為「越南獨立同盟會」，是印度支那共產黨於公元1941年5月19日創立的左翼民族運動陣線，主要訴求是「團結社會各階級」和建立民主獨立的越南。越盟的目標是驅逐日本和法國勢力，爭取越南的完全獨立。}

類似/相同物件請看:

DÉCORATIONS du VIETNAM Website

semon.fr/DECORATIONS_VIETNAM.htm#

American Numismatic Society Website

numismatics.org/collection/1937.179.11952

更多相關訊息請參考:

John jr Sylvester and André Hüsken, The traditional awards of Annam, 2001, Germany: Hauschild H.M.