Tự Đức Bảo Sao - Wikipedia

Historical Vietnamese currency Tự Đức Bảo Sao(嗣德寶鈔)

Đại Nam
Value	10 văn, 20 văn, 30 văn, 40 văn, 50 văn, 60 văn, 2 mạch, 3 mạch, 8 mạch, 9 mạch, and 1 quán
Composition	Copper-alloy (brass)
Years of minting	1861–1883[1]
Obverse
Design	Tự Đức Bảo Sao (嗣德寶鈔)
Reverse
Design	See below

The Tự Đức Bảo Sao (chữ Hán: 嗣德寶鈔) was a series of large denomination Vietnamese cash coins produced under the reign of Emperor Tự Đức from 1861 to complement the contemporary Tự Đức Thông Bảo (嗣德通寶) copper and zinc cash coins with larger nominal values. These coins were very badly received by the general population as their intrinsic value was relatively low compared to their nominal value and for this reason the Vietnamese government reduced the value of a single Tiền to 50 văn and allowed these coins to be used for the payment of taxes.[2][3][4][5]

The Tự Đức Bảo Sao is the first Vietnamese cash coin series that uses the denomination văn (文) replacing the earlier weight based denomination of phân (分).[6][7]

History

[edit]

The Tự Đức Bảo Sao or Đồng Sao (銅鈔, billets of copper) were introduced by the Ministry of Revenue (戸部, Hộ Bộ) in the year Tự Đức 14 (1961) for large transactions and taxes on behalf of stores of the government of Đại Nam, the introduction of the Tự Đức Bảo Sao marked the redefinition of the tiền or mạch denominations and the quàn (strings of cash coins) where the quàn was made equal to 10 mạch and the mạch was made the equivalent of 60 zinc cash coins, under these exchange rates 1 quàn was worth a string of 600 zinc cash coins.[8] The Đồng Sao series of cash coins was introduced as zinc cash coins were heavy in quantity to carry around for the payment of larger sums of money, to this end the government introduced a system of monetary units determined by their nominal value in zinc cash coins as opposed to their intrinsic market value, it is possible that this might have been inspired by contemporary Chinese coinage of the Xianfeng era in the Qing dynasty where large denomination coins from 4 up to 1000 văn circulated alongside each other with little to no difference in intrinsic value in a fiduciary system, this system was also used by the Vietnamese. When the Tự Đức Bảo Sao was first proposed the Mandarins of the imperial court of Đại Nam suggested to simply increase the weight of the brass Tự Đức Thông Bảo to make them worth more relative to the zinc Tự Đức Thông Bảo cash coins as 1 brass cash coin with a weight of 9 phần was worth four zinc cash coins.[8] The value of the Đồng Sao cash coins was indicated on the reverses of the coins expressed in their worth in zinc cash coins preceded by the character 準 (chuẩn, regarded as equal to), despite the fact that Sao (鈔) means "paper money", though imperfectly the denominations of these coins attempted to take the respective value of brass and zinc cash coins into account which means that they can't be fully qualified as a fiat currency.[8] The Ministry of Revenue of Đại Nam originally set the exchange rate between the brass Tự Đức Bảo Sao and zinc cash coins heavily in favour of the larger denominations which wasn't accepted by the market which resulted in the imperial court attempting to adjust the exchange rate more to the contemporary exchange values of brass and zinc cash coins that were in circulation.[9] In January 1868 by decree the exchange rate between brass 9 phần cash and zinc cash coins was fixed 1:4 replacing the early ratio of 1:2.67 that had been in place since 1858.[8][9] The Tự Đức Bảo Sao was generally well received by the population of Đại Nam despite the fact that their circulation was reduced due to their high purchasing power relative to their intrinsic value until their weight was decreased, which was done by the government to conform to the new official exchange between brass and zinc cash coins.[8]

From September 1870 the Tự Đức Bảo Sao series of cash coins has had their weight decreased, but kept the same nominal values and denominations. 80% of the Tự Đức Bảo Sao cash coins produced in the 1870 series were of the 60 văn denomination.[8] The ratio in the alloy between copper and zinc of this series was highly irregular with the coins of 10 văn being 25% copper and 75% zinc while the coins of 60 văn were only 11.1% copper and 88.9% zinc. A decree enacted in 1870 halved the market value of zinc cash coins which maximised the profitability the government was making on the production of the Tự Đức Bảo Sao as they were low in weight relative to their nominal value.[8] These new policies caused the Tự Đức Bảo Sao to fail however as the population were unhappy with these coins which were already little used, as these newer coins of decreased weight were rejected by the people they had to be re-melted as they were only used when people were forced to by the politicians.[8] These coins were abandoned almost immediately after their manufacture and were rarely held by private individuals, they were however held in large quantities by metal founders and antique merchants especially in places like Hanoi where there were a lot of Europeans.[8]

The other series of Tự Đức Bảo Sao cash coins is not denominated in văn (number of cash coins) but in accounting units like mạch (陌) and quán (貫, "strings of cash coins"), unlike the previous coins denominated in văn these coins could be considered to be a fiat currency.[8] This series of the Tự Đức Bảo Sao is not mentioned in the contemporary Vietnamese annals.[8] The intrinsic value of these coins is often only ten times as high as the lower denomination cash coins while their nominal value is a hundred times higher, it is possible that these coins were not introduced as their nominal value would be too different from the current system to be accepted by the population.[8]

Reading of the reverse inscriptions

[edit]

The reverse side of the Tự Đức Bảo Sao are read in an unorthodox way, as usually cash coins are read top-bottom-right-left (known as "a cross pattern"), as is the case for the obverse of this series.[8] This isn't the case with the reverse which are read in the order of top (12 o’clock), right (3 o’clock), left (9 o’clock), and then bottom (6 o’clock).[8] For example, the 60 văn coin's reverse is read Chuẩn lục thập văn (準六十文), rather than Chuẩn văn lục thập (準文六十), though the incorrect reading was advanced by some authors like Lacroix and is used in sources like the catalogue of currencies in the collection of the Bibliothèque nationale de France.[8]

French author Albert Schroeder referenced the correct reading being mentioned in a decree issued in 1861 by the government of the Nguyễn dynasty.[8]

The Tự Đức Bảo Sao with nominal values higher than 60 văn have reverse inscriptions that are read in the typical manner (top-bottom-right-left), for example Chuẩn đang nhị mạch (準當二陌) rather than Chuẩn nhị đang mạch (準二當陌) if read using the above method.[8]

List of Tự Đức Bảo Sao cash coins

[edit]

List of large denomination cash coins issued under Emperor Tự Đức:[10][11][8]

Denomination	chữ Hán(reverse inscription)	Years of mintage	Weight	Toda image	Image
10 văn	準十文(Chuẩn thập văn)	1861	5.66 g.	None
10 văn	準一十文(Chuẩn nhất thập văn)	1870	5.66 g.	None
20 văn	準二十文(Chuẩn nhị thập văn)	1861–1870	11.33 g.	None
30 văn	準三十文(Chuẩn tam thập văn)	1861–1870	None
40 văn	準四十文(Chuẩn tứ thập văn)	1870	12.20 g.	None
50 văn	準五十文(Chuẩn ngũ thập văn)	1861	23.40 g.
50 văn	準五十文(Chuẩn ngũ thập văn)	1870	12.75 g.
60 văn	準六十文(Chuẩn lục thập văn)	1870	12.20 g.
2 mạch(120 văn)	準當二陌(Chuẩn đang nhị mạch)	1870	20.52 g.	None
3 mạch(180 văn)	準當三陌(Chuẩn đang tam mạch)	1870	None
8 mạch(480 văn)	準當八陌(Chuẩn đang bát mạch)	1870	35.4 g.	None
9 mạch(540 văn)	準當九陌(Chuẩn đang cửu mạch)	1870	28.03 g.	None
1 quán	準當一貫(Chuẩn đang nhất quán)	1870	32.96 g.	None

See also

[edit]

• Dangbaekjeon
• Great Qing Treasure Note
• Tenpō Tsūhō
• Khải Định Thông Bảo
• Bảo Đại Thông Bảo

References

[edit]

1. ^ W. Op den Velde, "Cash coin index. The Cash Coins of Vietnam", Amsterdam, 1996.
2. ^ ED. TODA. (Shanghai, Qing dynasty 1882) ANNAM and its minor currency. Retrieved: 15 April 2018.
3. ^ H.A. Ramsden, The high value issues of the Tu Duc series of Annamese coins, East Asia Journal, vol. 2, 55-62, 1995.
4. ^ Tang Guo Yen, Chang Shi Chuan Yuenan lishi huobi (in Vietnamese Lich suu dong tien Vietnam - The Vietnamese historical currency), 1993, published by the Yunnan and Guangxi Numismatic Society (in Mandarin Chinese).
5. ^ Annam Études Numismatiques by Albert Schroeder.
6. ^ Dai Nam Hoi Dien Su Le" (Administrative statute of Dai Nam) published by Thuan Hoa, Viet Nam 1993. (in Vietnamese)
7. ^ "Dai Nam Thuc Luc" (A veritable chronicle of Dai Nam) published by Khoa Hoc Xa Hoi, Hanoi 1962, written by the Cabinet of the Nguyễn Dynasty. (in Vietnamese)
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Art-Hanoi CURRENCY TYPES AND THEIR FACE VALUES DURING THE TỰ ĐỨC ERA. This is a translation of the article “Monnaies et circulation monetairé au Vietnam dans l’ère Tự Đức (1848-1883) by Francois Thierry Published in Revue Numismatique 1999 (volume # 154). Pgs 267-313. This translation is from pages 274-297. Translator: Craig Greenbaum. Retrieved: 15 April 2018.
9. ^ a b François Thierry de Crussol (蒂埃里) (14 September 2015). "Les grandes monnaies bảo sáo 寳鈔 de Tự Đức 嗣德 - The large bảo sáo coins of Tự Đức" (in French). TransAsiart. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
10. ^ "Vietnamese Coin - Tu Duc Bao Sao 9 Mach". Vladimir Belyaev (Charm.ru - Chinese Coinage Website). 30 November 2001. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
11. ^ François Thierry de Crussol, Catalogue des monnaies Vietnamiennes, Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, 1987. (in French)

v t e Cash coins of the Nguyễn dynasty
Tự Đức Thông Bảo (嗣德通寶) Tự Đức Bảo Sao (嗣德寶鈔) Khải Định Thông Bảo (啓定通寶) Bảo Đại Thông Bảo (保大通寶)
Currency units: văn (文), mạch (陌), and quán (貫)

v t e Vietnamese cash coins by inscription
Đinh dynasty	Thái Bình Hưng Bảo (太平興寶)
Fourth Chinese domination	Vĩnh Lạc Thông Bảo (永樂通寶)
Nguyễn dynasty	Tự Đức Thông Bảo (嗣德通寶) Tự Đức Bảo Sao (嗣德寶鈔) Khải Định Thông Bảo (啓定通寶) Bảo Đại Thông Bảo (保大通寶)
Currency units	văn (文) mạch (陌) mân / cưỡng / quán (緡 / 繦/鏹 / 貫)
Manufacturing andcasting process	Mother coin (母錢)
Concepts	Cash coins in art Duyên tiền (鉛錢) Hoa xuyên tiền (花穿錢) Thiết tiền (鐵錢)

v t e Vietnamese currency
Imperial Vietnam	Cash coins Mother coin Thái Bình Hưng Bảo Tự Đức Thông Bảo Tự Đức Bảo Sao Khải Định Thông Bảo Bảo Đại Thông Bảo Tiền văn mạch quán
Colonial Vietnam	Cochinchina piastre French Indochinese piastre
Democratic Republic	North Vietnamese dong
South Vietnam	South Vietnamese dong (Republic) Liberation dong (PRG)
Socialist Republic	dong
Exonumia	Vietnamese numismatic charm
See also: Economy of Vietnam

v t e Nguyễn dynasty topics
Overview	Sovereign state (1802–1883) French protectorates of Annam and Tonkin (1883–1945) Empire of Vietnam (1945)
History	Sovereign Việt Nam / Đại Nam(Nhà Nguyễn thời độc lập) Nguyễn lords Đàng Trong Nam tiến Six Provinces of Southern Vietnam Citadel of Saigon Nguyễn dynasty's persecution of Catholics in the 19th century Tự Đức's Catholic persecution Văn Thân movement French protectorate(s)(Pháp thuộc, 法屬) French conquest of Vietnam Cần Vương Great Hanoi Rat Massacre Hanoi Exhibition Đông Du Duy Tân Hội Hanoi Poison Plot History of Vietnam during World War I Việt Nam Quang Phục Hội Vietnamese Revolutionary Youth League Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng Le Travail movement Communist Party of Vietnam Phú Riềng Đỏ Việt Minh French Indochina in World War II Japanese period Japanese invasion of French Indochina Japanese coup d'état in French Indochina Vietnamese famine of 1944–1945 Abdication of Bảo Đại Declaration of independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam
Government	Emperors Gia Long (1802–1820) Minh Mạng (1820–1841) Thiệu Trị (1841–1847) Tự Đức (1847–1883) Dục Đức (1883) Hiệp Hòa (1883) Kiến Phúc (1883–1884) Hàm Nghi (1884–1885) Đồng Khánh (1885–1889) Thành Thái (1889–1907) Duy Tân (1907–1916) Khải Định (1916–1925) Bảo Đại (1925–1945) Ministries & agencies Censorate Court of Judicial Review Court of Imperial Entertainments Court of the Imperial Stud Court of Imperial Sacrifices Office of the National Altars Hàn lâm viện House of People's Representatives of Annam Imperial Clan Court Imperial Household Department Quốc Tử Giám Lục bộ Ministry of Education Nội các Viện cơ mật Symbols Coat of arms Đăng đàn cung Flags Provincial flags Names of the Nguyễn dynasty state (Việt Nam / Đại Nam) Seals of the Nguyễn dynasty Vietnamese dragon Provincial administration Đề Đốc Tuần phủ Tổng Trấn French administration Khâm sứ Trung Kỳ Thống sứ Bắc Kỳ Prominent mandarins Bạch Xuân Nguyên Cao Xuân Dục Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau Jean Marie Despiau Hoàng Cao Khải Hoàng Diệu Hoàng Kế Viêm Michael Hồ Đình Hy Lê Chất Ngô Đình Diệm Ngô Đình Khả Ngô Đình Khôi Nguyễn Trường Tộ Nguyễn Huỳnh Đức Nguyễn Văn Tâm Nguyễn Văn Tồn Nguyễn Văn Nhơn Phan Văn Thúy Phạm Quỳnh Phạm Thận Duật Phan Đình Phùng Phan Thanh Giản Phan Thanh Liêm Nguyễn Tri Phương Thân Văn Nhiếp Nguyễn Ngọc Thơ Thoại Ngọc Hầu Tôn Thất Đính Tôn Thất Thuyết Trần Trọng Kim Trần Cao Vân Đặng Huy Trứ Trương Định Trương Minh Giảng Trương Tấn Bửu Nguyễn Văn Tường Philippe Vannier
Military	Battles and wars Tây Sơn wars French assistance to Nguyễn Ánh Vietnamese invasions of Cambodia Cambodian rebellion (1811–1812) Cambodian rebellion (1820) Ja Lidong rebellion Phan Bá Vành's Rebellion Anouvong's Rebellion against Siam Siamese–Vietnamese War (1831–1834) Nduai Kabait rebellion Nông Văn Vân's Rebellion Katip Sumat's Jihad Ja Thak Wa uprising Lê Văn Khôi revolt Cambodian rebellion (1840) Siamese–Vietnamese War (1841–1845) Bombardment of Tourane (1847) Cochinchina campaign Tonkin campaign Garnier Expedition Sino-French War Ba Dinh uprising / Cần Vương Yên Thế Insurrection Pacification of Tonkin Thái Nguyên uprising Vue Pa Chay's revolt Yên Bái mutiny Uprising of the Nghệ-Tĩnh soviets August Revolution Prominent military personnel Hoàng Kế Viêm Lê Văn Duyệt Lê Văn Khôi Nguyễn Cư Trinh Nguyễn Huỳnh Đức Nguyễn Văn Thành Nguyễn Văn Tồn Nguyễn Văn Nhơn Nguyễn Tri Phương Phan Văn Thúy Trương Minh Giảng
Special administrative regions	Champa Principality of Thuận Thành Principality of Hà Tiên Sip Song Chau Tai Thủy Xá and Hỏa Xá Trấn Ninh Trấn Tây Thành
Palaces & mausoleums	Palaces Imperial City of Huế Meridian Gate Tombs Thien Tho Mausoleum Khiêm Mausoleum An Mausoleum Ứng Mausoleum
Society & culture	Áo dài Đại Nam nhất thống chí Đại Nam thực lục Hoàng Lê nhất thống chí Khâm định Việt sử Thông giám cương mục Khăn vấn Woodblocks of the Nguyễn Dynasty
Education	Imperial Academy, Huế Imperial examination Confucian court examination system in Vietnam Quốc Học – Huế High School for the Gifted Société d’Enseignement Mutuel du Tonkin Tonkin Free School
Currency	Cash coins Tự Đức Thông Bảo Tự Đức Bảo Sao Khải Định Thông Bảo Bảo Đại Thông Bảo Currency units Văn Mạch Quán Tiền Colonial currencies French Indochinese piastre
Laws	Hương ước
Treaties	Saigon (1862) Huế (1863) Saigon (1874) Huế (1883) Huế (1884)
Orders, decorations, and medals	Bai Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam Kim Khánh
Other topics	Domain of the Crown Economy of the Nguyễn dynasty until 1884 Esplanade of Sacrifice to the Heaven and Earth House of Nguyễn Phúc Long Wall of Quảng Ngãi Postage stamps and postal history of Annam and Tongking Thoại Hà Canal Vĩnh Tế Canal Tôn Thất Vietnamese nationalism