Reference
Note:
Hartill (GCC, p. 146) included this Thánh Nguyên Thông Bảo coin among his category: ‘Small Copper – Distinct Calligraphy, Group 1. (“An Phap type”)’, with two variants having narrower (Fig. 2.856) or broader (Fig. 2.857) outer rims. HCR 58929-58932 belong to the narrow-rimmed variety. Hartill proposes (GCC, p. 143) that they were manufactured in North Vietnam under the Mạc between 1540 and 1590. This provisional dating has been followed here. However HCR 58935 appears to be a crude copy of the “An Phap type”coin. The obverse inscription is shallowly moulded and there was insufficient metal in the mould to fill out the edges of the centre hole. The metal is yellowish and may be brass or some other pale alloy, rather than the conventional bronze of the original. Accordingly, the potential date range has been extended to 1800, given that the coin’s former owner, Kutsuki Masatsuna, died in 1802.
Reference
Note:
Thierry (CMV, p. 37, Fig. 62) illustrated a Thánh Nguyên Thông Bảo coin similar to Hartill’s Fig. 2856, but with a circular central hole. On both obverse and reverse the moulded margins of the hole are visibly square but the hole itself has been bored as a circle, as if with a drill. HCR 58930 and 58932 are less perfect examples of the same feature which is commonly found in “An Phap type” coins. However, HCR 58935 is somewhat different in having the obverse rim of the centre hole intermediate in shape. In this example there is distortion caused by the lack of metal leaving a gap where the lower rim of the hole should be. However the left side rim of the hole is distinctly curved, while the upper and right margins appear less clearly curved. The hole itself has been trimmed unevenly to a roughly circular shape. This form of the centre hole could represent a transitional design, intermediate between square holes and the clearly circular form observed in HCR 58896 and 58897. In any case HCR 58935 looks like a copy in brass or other pale alloy of the normal “An Phap type” coin. See note on previous reference.
