The Numismatic Chronicle 171 Offprint - Royal Numismatic Society

368
FRANÇOIS THIERRY
are not included, on the basis that there is no pictorial proof that they ever existed. 3
For the same reason, I do not follow Schroeder’s assertions that ‘It is possible to
reconstruct for this (Thiệu Trị) era the almost complete series of twenty-three coins
bearing an inscription in eight characters, listed on page 211 for the Minh Mạng era
(see also nos 151–67 inclusive)’ and ‘It is possible to reconstruct for this (Thiệu
Trị) era the almost complete series of eighteen coins bearing an inscription in four
characters, listed on page 211 for the Minh Mạng era (see also nos 151–67)’, which
he repeats for the Tự Đức era. 4 Similarly, I have not included the types mentioned by
Đỗ Văn Ninh, 5 who gives neither illustrations nor characters; nor those which Barker
notes simply as ‘known to exist’, but without giving references or illustrations. 6 I
have analysed most closely the coins for which there are illustrations, in particular
those for which only the reverse is illustrated. This method helps best to distinguish
which coins were of the Minh Mạng era, and which were created during the Thiệu
Trị and Tự Đức eras.
In the fi fth moon of the eleventh lunar year canh-dần 庚寅 (1830), the decision
was made to mint large coins with moral maxims (mỹ hiệu 美號) inscribed on the
reverse. There was to be a total of 30 types: 20 with eight-character inscriptions and
10 with four-character inscriptions. 7 In 1837 (18th year đinh-dậu 丁酉of the Minh
Mạng era), the decision was taken to mint new coins, because ‘there are very few of
the large brass coins with moral maxims that were made previously’. Production was
entrusted to a commission composed of four representatives from the Ministry of
Finance, the Ministry of Public Works, the Censorate (Đô sát viện 都察院) and the
Imperial Guard (Thị vệ 侍衛), respectively. ‘These delegates will meet in committee
with the Director of the Mint and will take to the Treasury some metals of good
quality: copper, tin and zinc, and will make an alloy from them according to the
proportions already stated. The inscriptions will be similar to those of previous
years; 100,000 of these coins will be made’. 8 A list of the inscriptions ‘selected from
the sacred and venerated books’ – 23 inscriptions with eight characters and 17 with
four characters – follow the text of the edict.
But this list of 23 eight-character inscriptions (types 25–47) and 17 four-character
inscriptions (types 1–17) did not result in the production of 40 types at that time.
Furthermore, there is a contradiction between the assertion that ‘the inscriptions will
be similar to those of previous years’, that is 30 maxims, and this new list of 40
maxims. In fact, three of the eight-character types and seven of the four-character
types were clearly not issued in the Minh Mạng era at all. It is only Schroeder who
gives the 40 types for the Minh Mạng era. 9 The illustrations he provides for these
3 Of course, it is understood that a drawing can never be taken as absolute proof that the object ever
existed in this form.
4 Schroeder, Annam. Etudes numismatiques, pp. 444 and 466.
5 Đỗ, Tiền cổ Việt Nam.
6 Barker, Historical cash coins of Viêt Nam.
7 Đỗ, Tiền cổ Việt Nam, p. 166.
8 Schroeder, Annam. Etudes numismatiques, p. 206, but no source is given.
9 Đỗ Văn Ninh initially gave thirty types, and added, probably basing his work on Schroeder’s
auctoritas, that a further ten types were known, and provided the inscriptions: three with eight characters
and seven with four characters. However, he did not provide a single illustration of these ten types. See
Đỗ, Tiền cổ Việt Nam, pp. 171–2.