Reference
Note:
Hartill (GCC, p. 115, Fig. 2.310) illustrates an example of this Hi Nguyên thông bảo coin (from the internet) but unaccountably he mislabels it as a Thiệu Phong Nguyên Bảo. He places this unattributed Vietnamese coin among his category ‘Large Copper – Others’. The seal script 元 is of the style used by Northern Song Emperor Shen Zong for his Zhi Ning yuan bao (1068-1077), with left and right ‘shoulders’. See Hartill CCC, p. 137, Fig. 16.170. HCR 58940 and 58941 appear to have come from the same mother coin. It is possible this coin came from China (since both specimens are from Christopher Gardner’s collection who was a diplomat in China in the second half of the 19th century. If that is the case then the inscription should be read either as Xi Yuan Tong Bao (TBRL) or Xi Tong Yuan Bao (clockwise). Hartill ((GCC, p. 115) suggested that this coin might be Japanese, in which case the inscription would be either Ki Gen Tsu Ho or Ki Tsu Gen Ho.
Reference
Note:
Thierry’s Hi Nguyên thông bảo variety (CMVS 117), differs strongly in the style of every single character from HCR 58941. Thierry includes his coin among his category of “small coins with hybrid inscriptions” for which he assigned the broadest possible range of dates (11th to 16th century). HCR 58940 and 58941 appear likely to be later coins, but their origins are unknown and no specimen has been found on the Zeno database.
