The Numismatic Chronicle 171 Offprint - Royal Numismatic Society

THE CONFUCIAN MESSAGE ON VIETNAMESE COINS 367
The Confucian Message on Vietnamese Coins
A closer look at the Nguyễn dynasty’s large coins
with moral maxims
FRANÇOIS THIERRY
IN THE COINAGE of the Nguyễn dynasty (1802–1945) there is a coherent group of
large coins that bear moral maxims, which Lacroix called ‘royal medals in bronze’
(médailles royales de bronze). 1 The coins were issued by three successive emperors:
Thánh Tổ 聖祖 (Minh Mạng 明命 era, 1820–40); Hiến Tổ 憲祖 (Thiệu Trị 紹治 era,
1841–7) and Dực Tông 翼宗 (Tự Đức 嗣德 era, 1848–83). 2 They were large coins,
cast in brass with a diameter of about 50 mm and with weights varying according
to the reign: 26 to 28 grams during the Minh Mạng era, rising to 35 to 41 grams
during the Thiệu Trị era, and reaching 35 to 50 grams during the Tự Đức era. The
Chinese maxims were almost all taken from the Confucian classics or from historical
or literary works of that school of thought, but we cannot be sure that they were
taken directly from the original texts or whether they were drawn from collections
of quotations intended for candidates taking examinations. Although the edict of
1837 says that they were ‘selected from the sacred and venerated books’ it must
be said that they are often contractions, abbreviations or paraphrased versions, and
sometimes even extrapolations, of the original texts. It is therefore highly likely
that they were selected from manuals or commentaries published under the aegis of
the Directorate of Education (Quốc tử giám 國子監). The criteria which prevailed
in the selection of these maxims were deeply infl uenced by the dogmatic and rigid
Confucianism which was the state ideology of the Nguyễn dynasty.
On the whole, numismatists have not taken much interest in this aspect of the
coinage. There has even been some confusion as to which types were issued by
which ruler. The Minh Mạng era decree cited by Schroeder includes a list of maxims
on coins, but some of these were not used during this reign. Similarly, some unknown
types appear in the Tự Đức era which are not mentioned in the sources.
This study includes only those types for which there is a reliable illustration,
rubbing or photograph. Types that appear in the various lists without illustrations
1 This paper was originally submitted in French. I am grateful to Helen Wang for helping translate it
into English.
1 Lacroix, Numismatique annamite, pp. 163–5.
2 Lacroix, nos 400, 401, 406, 407 bis –430, 450–481; Schroeder, pp. 206–214 and nos 128–167, 217–
218, 311–319; AMM nos V60–V78, V132–V146, V210–V225; CMV nos 1515–1556, 1602–1632,
1772–1838; CMVS nos 391–399, 422–433, 487–491; Barker, Historical cash coins of Viêt Nam, pp.
268–9. Coins of this type (or similar) for the Gia Long, Kiến Phúc, Hàm Nghi, Đồng Khánh, Thành
Thái and Duy Tân eras are fakes or fantasy pieces made in the 1960s and 1970s in South Vietnam for
American collectors; for details, see Kemgpen ‘Palast Münzen des Kaisers Minh Mang’.