Vietnamese cash
Vietnamese cash is a cast round coin with a square hole that was an official currency of Vietnam from the Đinh dynasty in 970 until the Nguyễn dynasty in 1945, and remained in circulation in North Vietnam until 1948. The same type of currency circulated in China, Japan, Korea, and Ryūkyū for centuries. Though the majority of Vietnamese cash coins throughout history were copper coins, lead, iron and zinc coins also circulated alongside them often at fluctuating rates. The reason why coins made from metals of lower intrinsic value were introduced was because of various superstitions involving Vietnamese people burying cash coins, as the problem of people burying cash coins became too much for the government as almost all coins issued by government mints tended to be buried mere months after they had entered circulation, the Vietnamese government began issuing coins made from an alloy of zinc, lead, and tin. As these cash coins tended to be very fragile they would decompose faster if buried which caused the Vietnamese people to stop burying their coins.
Currency units
Traditionally, the basic units of Vietnamese currency were quan, tiền, and đồng. One quan was 10 tiền, and one tiền was between 50 and 100 đồng, depending on the time period. From the reign of Emperor Trần Thái Tông onward, 1 tiền was 69 đồng in ordinary commercial transactions but 1 tiền was 70 đồng for official transactions. From the reign of Emperor Lê Lợi, 1 tiền was decreed to be 50 đồng. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties of Vietnam period, beginning in 1528, coins were reduced from to in diameter and diluted with zinc and iron. The smaller coinage was called tiền gián or sử tiền, in contrast to the larger tiền quý or cổ tiền. One quan tiền quý was equivalent to 600 đồng, while 1 quan tiền gián was only 360 đồng. During the Later Lê Dynasty, 1 tiền was 60 đồng; therefore, 600 đồng was 1 quan. During the Yuan Dynasty, Vietnamese traders at the border with China used the rate 1 tiền to 67 đồng. Zinc coins began to appear in Dai Viet during the 18th century. One copper coin was worth 3 zinc coins. Beginning with the reign of Emperor Gia Long, both copper and zinc coins were in use. Originally the two coins had equal value, but eventually a copper coin rose to double the worth of a zinc coin, then triple, then sixfold, until the reign of Emperor Thành Thái, it was worth ten times a zinc coin.History
Đinh and Early Lê dynasties
The first Vietnamese coins were cast under the rule of the Đinh Dynasty with the introduction of the Thái Bình Hưng Bảo under Đinh Bộ Lĩnh. Though for the next 2 centuries coins would remain a rarity in the daily lives of the common people as barter would remain the dominant means of exchange under both the Đinh and Early Lê dynasties.Lý dynasty
Generally cast coins produced by the Vietnamese from the reign of Lý Thái Tông and onwards were of diminutive quality compared to the Chinese variants, they were often produced with inferior metallic compositions and made to be thinner and lighter than the Chinese wén due to a severe lack of copper that existed during the Lý dynasty. This inspired Chinese traders to recast Chinese coins for export to Vietnam which caused an abundance of coinage to circulate in the country prompting the Lý government to suspend the mintage of coins for 5 decades.Trần dynasty
The production of inferior coinage continued under the Trần dynasty. It was under the reign of Trần Dụ Tông that the most cash coins were cast of this period, this was because of several calamities such as failed crops that plagued the country during his reign that caused the Trần government to issue more coins to the populace as compensation. The internal political struggles of the Trần ensured the cessation of the production of coinage and as such no coins were produced during the entire reigns of the last 7 monarchs of the Trần dynasty.Hồ dynasty
During the Hồ dynasty the usage of coins was banned by Hồ Quý Ly in 1396 in favour of the Thông Bảo Hội Sao banknote series and ordered people to exchange their coinage for these banknotes, those who denied to exchange or continued to pay with coins would be executed and have their possessions taken by the government. Despite these harsh laws very few people actually preferred paper money and coins remained widespread in circulation forcing the Hồ dynasty to retract their policies. The Thông Bảo Hội Sao banknotes of the Hồ dynasty featured designs with seaweed, patterns of waves, clouds, and turtles on them. Under the Hồ dynasty Thánh Nguyên Thông Bảo, and Thiệu Nguyên Thông Bảo but they would only be manufactured in small numbers, though the Later Lê dynasty would produce coins with the same inscriptions less than half a century later in larger quantities.Later Lê, Mạc, and Revival Lê dynasties
After Lê Thái Tổ came to power in 1428 by ousting out the Ming dynasty ending the Fourth Chinese domination of Vietnam, Lê Thái Tổ enacted new policies to improve the quality of the manufacturing of coinage leading to the production of coins with both excellent craftsmanship and metal compositions that rivaled that of the best contemporary Chinese coinage.Between 1633 and 1637 the Dutch East India Company sold 105,835 strings of 960 cash coins to the Nguyễn lords in Vĩnh Lạc Thông Bảo, and Khoan Vĩnh Thông Bảo coins. This was because the Japanese had restricted trade forcing the Southern Vietnamese traders to purchase its copper coins from the Dutch Republic rather than from Japanese merchants as had happened earlier. This trade lead to a surplus of copper in the territory of the Nguyễn lords allowing them to use the metal for more practical applications such as nails and door hinges. After this Nagasaki trade coins which were specifically minted for the Vietnamese market, also started being traded and to circulate in the northern parts of Vietnam where the smaller coins would often be melted down for utensils and only circulated in Hanoi while larger Nagasaki trade coins circulated all over Vietnam.
From the Dương Hòa era under Lê Thần Tông until 1675 no coins were cast due to the political turmoil, at the turn of the 18th century Lê Dụ Tông opened a lot of copper mines and renewed the production of high quality coinage. From 1719 the production of cast copper coins had ceased for 2 decades and taxes were more heavily lifted on the Chinese population as Mandarins could receive a promotion in rank for every 600 strings of cash. Under Lê Hiển Tông a large variety of "Cảnh Hưng" coins were cast with varying descriptions on the obverse, in fact it is thought that more variations of the "Cảnh Hưng" coin exist than of any other Oriental cash coin in history. And there were new large Cảnh Hưng coins with denominations of 50 and 100 văn introduced. And from 1740 various provincial mint marks were added on the reverses of coins. Currently there are around 80 known different kinds of "Cảnh Hưng" coins, the reason for this diversity is because the Lê government was in dire need for coins to pay for its expenditures, while it needed to collect more taxes in coins so it began to mint a lot of coins, later to fulfill this need the Lê legalised the previously detrimental workshops that were minting inferior coins in 1760 in order to meet the market's high demand for coinage, this backfired as the people found the huge variety in quality and quantity confusing.
Tây Sơn dynasty
Under Nguyễn Nhạc the description of Thất Phân was first added to the reverses of some coins indicating their weight, this continued under the Nguyễn dynasty. Under the reign of Nguyễn Huệ Quang Trung Thông Bảo cash coins were produced made in two different types of metal, one series of copper and one series of tin, as well as alloys between the two or copper coins of red copper.Nguyễn dynasty
Pre-colonial era
Under Gia Long three kinds of cash coins were produced in smaller denominations made of copper, lead, and zinc. From 1837 under the reign of Minh Mạng 1 Mạch brass cash coins were issued, these cash coins feature Minh Mạng Thông Bảo on their obverses but have 8 characters on their reverses. 1 Mạch coins would be continued under subsequent rulers of the Nguyễn dynasty.Emperor.
" coins of varying denominations, on display at the Museum of Vietnamese History, Ho Chi Minh City.
Since the reign of Gia Long zinc coins had replaced the usage of copper and brass coins and formed the basis of the Vietnamese currency system. Under Gia Long the standard 1 văn denomination coins weighed 7 phần, under Minh Mạng 6 phần which would remain the standard for future rulers. Zinc cash coins produced in Hanoi under Tự Đức had the mint mark "Hà Nội" on them, with there being another mint in Sơn Tây.
However, in 1871 the production of zinc cash coins stopped as many mines were being blocked by Chinese pirates, and the continued production of these coins would be too expensive. Other reasons for the discontinuation of zinc cash coins despite them being indispensable to the general populace was because they were heavy compared to its nominal value and the metal is quite brittle. To the French zinc coinage also presented a huge in inconvenience since their colonisation of Cochinchina in 1859 as the exchange between French francs and zinc văn meant that a large amount of zinc coins were exchanged for the French franc. Zinc cash coins often broke during transportation as the strings that kept them together would often snap the coins would fall on the ground and a great number of them would break into pieces, and these coins were also less resistant to oxidation causing them to corrode faster than other coinages.
Prior to 1849 brass coins had become an extreme rarity and only circulated in the provinces surrounding the capital cities of Vietnam, but under Tự Đức new regulations and standards for copper cash coins were created to help promote their usage. Between 1868 and 1872 brass coins were only around 50% copper, and 50% zinc. Due to the natural scarcity of copper in Vietnam the country always lacked the resources to produce sufficient copper coinage for circulation.
Under Tự Đức large coins with the denomination of 60 văn were introduced, these coins were ordered to circulate at a value of 1 tiền, but their intrinsic value was significantly lower so they were badly received and the production of these coins was quickly discontinued in favour of 20, 30, 40, and 50 văn coins known as Đồng Sao. In 1870 Tự Đức Bảo Sao cash coins of 2, 3, 8, and 9 Mạch were issued. Large denomination coins were mostly used for tax collection as their relatively low intrinsic value lowered their spending power on the market.
List of large denomination cash coins issued under Emperor Tự Đức:
| Denomination | Hán tự | Years of mintage | Weight | Toda image | Image |
| 10 văn | 準十文 | 1861 | 5.66 g. | - | |
| 10 văn | 準文一十 | 1870 | 5.66 g. | - | |
| 20 văn | 準文二十 | 1861–1870 | 11.33 g. | - | |
| 30 văn | 準文三十 | 1861–1870 | - | ||
| 40 văn | 準文四十 | 1870 | 12.20 g. | - | |
| 50 văn | 準文五十 | 1861 | 23.40 g. | ||
| 50 văn | 準文五十 | 1870 | 12.75 g. | ||
| 60 văn | 準文六十 | 1870 | 12.20 g. | ||
| 2 mạch | 準當二陌 | 1870 | 20.52 g. | - | |
| 3 mạch | 準當三陌 | 1870 | - | ||
| 8 mạch | 準當八陌 | 1870 | - | ||
| 9 mạch | 準當九陌 | 1870 | 28.03 g. | - | |
| 1 quán | 準當一貫 | 1870 | 32.96 g. | - |
In 1882 at the time when Toda's Annam and its minor currency was published only 2 government mints remained in operation, one in Hanoi, and one in Huế. Though private mints were allowed to cast cash coins with the permission of the government, and a large number of cash coins were also imported from abroad as at that time the Portuguese colony of Macau had 6 mints with 12 furnaces producing 600,000 cash coins for Vietnam on a daily basis.
Cash coins circulated in the 19th century along with silver and gold bars, as well as silver and gold coins known as tiền. Denominations up to 10 tiền were minted, with the 7 tiền coins in gold and silver being similar in size and weight to the Spanish 8 real and 8 escudo pieces. These coins continued to be minted into the 20th century, albeit increasingly supplanted by French colonial coinage.
Under French rule
After the introduction of modern coinage by the French in 1878, cash coins remained in general circulation in French Cochinchina. Despite the later introduction of the French Indochinese piastre, zinc and copper-alloy cash coins would continue to circulate among the Vietnamese populace throughout the country as the primary form of coinage as the majority of the population lived in extreme poverty until 1945 and were valued at the rates of about 500–600 cash coins for one piastre. The need for coins was only a minor part in the lives of most Vietnamese people at the time as barter remained more common as all coins were bartered on the market according to their current intrinsic values.Initially the French attempted to supplement cash coins in circulation by punching round holes into French 1 centime coins and shipping a large amount of them to French Cochinchina, but these coins did not see much circulation and the Cochinchinese people largely rejected them.
On 7 April & 22 April 1879 the governor of French Cochinchina had decreed that the new designs for coins with "Cochinchine Française" on them would be accepted with the denominations 2 sapèques, 1 cent, 10 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents, and the piastre. All coins except for the piastre was allowed to be issued, which allowed for Spanish dollars and Mexican reals to continue circulating. The Paris Mint produced the new machine-struck 2 sapèques "Cochinchine Française" cash coins. These French produced bronze cash coins weighed 2 grams were valued at piastre, they saw considerably more circulation than the previous French attempt at creating cash coins, but were still largely disliked by the Cochinchinese people. The local population still preferred their own Tự Đức Thông Bảo cash coin despite it being only valued at piastre.
Following the establishment of French Indochina, a new version of the French 2 sapèques was produced from 1887 to 1902 which was also valued at piastre and were likely forced on the Vietnamese people when they were paid for their goods and/or services by the French as the preference still was for indigenous cash coins.
Under French administration the Nguyễn government issued the Kiến Phúc Thông Bảo, Hàm Nghi Thông Bảo, Đồng Khánh Thông Bảo, Thành Thái Thông Bảo, Duy Tân Thông Bảo cash coins of different metal compositions and weights. Each of these cash coins had their own value against the French Indochinese piastre. Because the exchange values between the native cash coins and silver piasters were confusing, the local Vietnamese people were often cheated by the money changers during this period.
On 1 August 1898 it was reported in the Bulletin Economique De L’Indo-Chine article; Le Monnaie De L’Annam that the Huế Mint was closed in the year 1887, and in the year 1894, the casting of cash coins had started at the Thanh Hóa Mint. Between the years 1889 and 1890 the Huế Mint produced 1321 strings of 600 small brass Thành Thái Thông Bảo cash coins. These small brass cash coins were valued at 6 zinc cash coins. In the year 1893, large brass Thành Thái Thông Bảo cash coins with a denomination of 10 văn, or 10 zinc cash coins, started being produced by the Huế Mint. The production of Thành Thái Thông Bảo cash coins were resumed at the Thanh Hóa Mint between the years 1894 and 1899. Under Emperor Thành Thái gold and silver coinages were also produced.
In the year 1902 the French ceased production of machine-struck cash coins at the Paris Mint and completely deferred the production of cash coins back to the government of the Nguyễn dynasty. There were people in Hanoi and Saigon that still preferred the French machine-struck cash coins, so a committee was set up in Hanoi that created a machine-struck zinc cash coin valued at piastre dated 1905 but issued in 1906. However, this series of cash coins wasn't well received by the either the local or the French population as the coins were brittle, prone to corrosion, and easily broke so their production was quickly halted.
The last monarch whose name was cast on cash coins, Emperor Bảo Đại, died in 1997.
Democratic Republic of Vietnam
After the Democratic Republic of Vietnam declared their independence in 1945 they began issuing their own money, but cash coins continued to circulate in the remote areas of Bắc Bộ and Trung Bộ where there was a lack of xu, hào, and đồng coins for the population. The Democratic Republic of Viet Nam Decree 51/SL of January 6, 1947 officially set the exchange rate at 20 Vietnamese cash coins for 1 North Vietnamese đồng making them equal to 5 xu each. Vietnamese cash coins continued to officially circulate in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam until April 13, 1948.Aftermath
During the Vietnam War a large number or Vietnamese numismatic charms with both authentic as well as fantasy coin inscriptions were produced in South Vietnam to be sold to foreigners interested in collecting Vietnamese antiques. These fantasy inscriptions included legends like Quang Trung Trọng Bảo, Hàm Nghi Trọng Bảo, and Khải Định Trọng Bảo, the latter of which being based on the Khải Định Thông Bảo.List of Vietnamese cash coins
During the almost 1000 years that Vietnamese copper cash coins were produced, they often significantly changed quality, alloy, size, and workmanship. In general, the coins bear the era name of the monarch but may also be inscribed with mint marks, denominations, miscellaneous characters, and decorations.Unlike Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Ryūkyūan cash coins that always have the inscription in only one typeface, Vietnamese cash coins tend to be more idiosyncratic bearing sometimes Regular script, Seal script, and even Running script on the same coins for different characters, and it's not uncommon for one coin to be cast almost entirely in one typeface but has an odd character in another. Though early Vietnamese coins often bore the calligraphic style of the Chinese Khai Nguyên Thông Bảo coin, especially those from the Đinh until the Trần dynasties.
The following coins were produced to circulate in Vietnam:
| Inscription | Inscription | Years of mintage | Dynasty | Monarch | Toda image | Image |
| Thái Bình Hưng Bảo | 太平興寶 | 970–979 | Đinh | Đinh Tiên Hoàng Đinh Phế Đế | ||
| Thiên Phúc Trấn Bảo | 天福鎮寶 | 986 | Early Lê | Lê Hoàn | ||
| 黎 | 986 | Early Lê | Lê Hoàn | - | ||
| Thuận Thiên Đại Bảo | 順天大寶 | 1010–1028 | Lý | Lý Thái Tổ | ||
| Càn Phù Nguyên Bảo | 乾符元寶 | 1039–1041 | Lý | Lý Thái Tông | ||
| Minh Đạo Nguyên Bảo | 明道元寶 | 1042–1043 | Lý | Lý Thái Tông | - | |
| 天符通寶 | 1120–1127 | Lý | Lý Nhân Tông | - | ||
| 天符元寶 | 1120–1127 | Lý | Lý Nhân Tông | - | ||
| 大定通寶 | 1140–1162 | Lý | Lý Anh Tông | |||
| 天感通寶 | 1044–1048 | Lý | Lý Anh Tông | - | ||
| Thiên Cảm Nguyên Bảo | 天感元寶 | 1174–1175 | Lý | Lý Anh Tông | - | |
| Chính Long Nguyên Bảo | 正隆元寶 | 1174–1175 | Lý | Lý Anh Tông | - | |
| 天資通寶 | 1202–1204 | Lý | Lý Cao Tông | - | ||
| Thiên Tư Nguyên Bảo | 天資元寶 | 1202–1204 | Lý | Lý Cao Tông | - | |
| 治平通寶 | 1205–1210 | Lý | Lý Cao Tông | - | ||
| Trị Bình Nguyên Bảo | 治平元寶 | 1205–1210 | Lý | Lý Cao Tông | ||
| 咸平元寶 | 1205–1210 | Lý | Lý Cao Tông | - | ||
| Kiến Trung Thông Bảo | 建中通寶 | 1225–1237 | Trần | Trần Thái Tông | - | |
| Trần Nguyên Thông Bảo | 陳元通寶 | 1225–1237 | Trần | Trần Thái Tông | - | |
| Chính Bình Thông Bảo | 政平通寶 | 1238–1350 | Trần | Trần Thái Tông | - | |
| Nguyên Phong Thông Bảo | 元豐通寶 | 1251–1258 | Trần | Trần Thái Tông | ||
| Thiệu Long Thông Bảo | 紹隆通寶 | 1258–1272 | Trần | Trần Thánh Tông | - | |
| Hoàng Trần Thông Bảo | 皇陳通寶 | 1258–1278 | Trần | Trần Thánh Tông | - | |
| Hoàng Trần Nguyên Bảo | 皇陳元寶 | 1258–1278 | Trần | Trần Thánh Tông | - | |
| Khai Thái Nguyên Bảo | 開太元寶 | 1324–1329 | Trần | Trần Minh Tông | - | |
| Thiệu Phong Bình Bảo | 紹豐平寶 | 1341–1357 | Trần | Trần Dụ Tông | ||
| Thiệu Phong Nguyên Bảo | 紹豐元寶 | 1341–1357 | Trần | Trần Dụ Tông | ||
| Đại Trị Thông Bảo | 大治通寶 | 1358–1369 | Trần | Trần Dụ Tông | ||
| Đại Trị Nguyên Bảo | 大治元寶 | 1358–1369 | Trần | Trần Dụ Tông | ||
| Cảm Thiệu Nguyên Bảo | 感紹元寶 | 1368–1370 | Trần | Hôn Đức Công | ||
| Cảm Thiệu Nguyên Bảo | 感紹元宝 | 1368–1370 | Trần | Hôn Đức Công | ||
| Đại Định Thông Bảo | 大定通寶 | 1368–1370 | Trần | Hôn Đức Công | - | |
| Thiệu Khánh Thông Bảo | 紹慶通寶 | 1370–1372 | Trần | Trần Nghệ Tông | - | |
| Xương Phù Thông Bảo | 昌符通寶 | 1377–1388 | Trần | Trần Phế Đế | - | |
| 熙元通寶 | 1381–1382 | - | Nguyễn Hi Nguyên | |||
| Thiên Thánh Nguyên Bảo | 天聖元寶 | 1391–1392 | - | Sử Thiên Thánh | ||
| Thánh Nguyên Thông Bảo | 聖元通寶 | 1400 | Hồ | Hồ Quý Ly | ||
| 紹元通寶 | 1401–1402 | Hồ | Hồ Hán Thương | |||
| 漢元通寶 | 1401–1407 | Hồ | Hồ Hán Thương | |||
| Hán Nguyên Thánh Bảo | 漢元聖寶 | 1401–1407 | Hồ | Hồ Hán Thương | ||
| 天平通寶 | 1405–1406 | - | Thiên Bình | |||
| 永寧通寶 | 1420 | - | Lộc Bình Vương | |||
| 交趾通寶 | 1419 | Minh | Vĩnh Lạc Emperor | - | ||
| Vĩnh Thiên Thông Bảo | 永天通寶 | 1420 | - | Lê Ngạ | ||
| Thiên Khánh Thông Bảo | 天慶通寶 | 1426–1428 | Later Trần | Thiên Khánh Đế | - | |
| 安法元寶 | Rebellion | Later Lê | Lê Lợi | |||
| 正法元寶 | Rebellion | Later Lê | Lê Lợi | |||
| 治聖元寶 | Rebellion | Later Lê | Lê Lợi | |||
| 治聖平寶 | Rebellion | Later Lê | Lê Lợi | |||
| 太法平寶 | Rebellion | Later Lê | Lê Lợi | - | ||
| 聖宮通寶 | Rebellion | Later Lê | Lê Lợi | |||
| Thuận Thiên Thông Bảo | 順天通寶 | 1428–1433 | Later Lê | Lê Thái Tổ | - | |
| Thuận Thiên Nguyên Bảo | 順天元寶 | 1428–1433 | Later Lê | Lê Thái Tổ | ||
| Thiệu Bình Thông Bảo | 紹平通寶 | 1434–1440 | Later Lê | Lê Thái Tông | ||
| Đại Bảo Thông Bảo | 大寶通寶 | 1440–1442 | Later Lê | Lê Thái Tông | ||
| Thái Hòa Thông Bảo | 太和通寶 | 1443–1453 | Later Lê | Lê Nhân Tông | ||
| Diên Ninh Thông Bảo | 延寧通寶 | 1454–1459 | Later Lê | Lê Nhân Tông | ||
| Thiên Hưng Thông Bảo | 天興通寶 | 1459–1460 | Later Lê | Lê Nghi Dân | ||
| Quang Thuận Thông Bảo | 光順通寶 | 1460–1469 | Later Lê | Lê Thánh Tông | ||
| Hồng Đức Thông Bảo | 洪德通寶 | 1470–1497 | Later Lê | Lê Thánh Tông | ||
| Cảnh Thống Thông Bảo | 景統通寶 | 1497–1504 | Later Lê | Lê Hiến Tông | ||
| Đoan Khánh Thông Bảo | 端慶通寶 | 1505–1509 | Later Lê | Lê Uy Mục | ||
| Giao Trị Thông Bảo | 交治通寶 | 1509 | - | Cẩm Giang Vương | ||
| Thái Bình Thông Bảo | 太平通寶 | 1509 | - | Cẩm Giang Vương | ||
| Thái Bình Thánh Bảo | 太平聖寶 | 1509 | - | Cẩm Giang Vương | ||
| Hồng Thuận Thông Bảo | 洪順通寶 | 1510–1516 | Later Lê | Lê Tương Dực | ||
| Trần Tuân Công Bảo | 陳新公寶 | 1511–1512 | - | Trần Tuân | ||
| 光紹通寶 | 1516–1522 | Later Lê | Lê Chiêu Tông | |||
| Trần Công Tân Bảo | 陳公新寶 | 1516–1521 | - | Trần Cao | - | |
| Thiên Ứng Thông Bảo | 天應通寶 | 1516–1521 | - | Trần Cao | ||
| Phật Pháp Tăng Bảo | 佛法僧寶 | 1516–1521 | - | Trần Cao | - | |
| Tuyên Hựu Hòa Bảo | 宣祐和寶 | 1516–1521 | - | Trần Cao | - | |
| Thống Nguyên Thông Bảo | 統元通寶 | 1522–1527 | Later Lê | Lê Cung Hoàng | ||
| Minh Đức Thông Bảo | 明德通寶 | 1527–1530 | Mạc | Mạc Thái Tổ | ||
| Minh Đức Nguyên Bảo | 明德元寶 | 1527–1530 | Mạc | Mạc Thái Tổ | ||
| 大正通寶 | 1530–1540 | Mạc | Mạc Thái Tông | |||
| Quang Thiệu Thông Bảo | 光紹通寶 | 1531–1532 | - | Quang Thiệu Emperor | ||
| 元和通寶 | 1533–1548 | Revival Lê | Lê Trang Tông | |||
| Quảng Hòa Thông Bảo | 廣和通寶 | 1541–1546 | Mạc | Mạc Hiến Tông | ||
| Vĩnh Định Thông Bảo | 永定通寶 | 1547 | Mạc | Mạc Tuyên Tông | ||
| Vĩnh Định Chí Bảo | 永定之寶 | 1547 | Mạc | Mạc Tuyên Tông | ||
| Quang Bảo Thông Bảo | 光寶通寶 | 1554–1561 | Mạc | Mạc Tuyên Tông | - | |
| 太平通寶 | 1558–1613 | Nguyễn lords | Nguyễn Hoàng | - | ||
| 太平豐寶 | 1558–1613 | Nguyễn lords | Nguyễn Hoàng | - | ||
| 平安通寶 | 1572–1623 | Trịnh lords | Trịnh Tùng | - | ||
| 嘉泰通寶 | 1573–1599 | Revival Lê | Lê Thế Tông | - | ||
| Càn Thống Nguyên Bảo | 乾統元寶 | 1593–1625 | Mạc | Mạc Kính Cung | - | |
| An Pháp Nguyên Bảo | 安法元寶 | 1593–1625 | Mạc | Mạc Kính Cung | - | |
| Thái Bình Thông Bảo | 太平通寶 | 1593–1625 | Mạc | Mạc Kính Cung | - | |
| Thái Bình Thánh Bảo | 太平聖寶 | 1593–1625 | Mạc | Mạc Kính Cung | - | |
| Thái Bình Pháp Bảo | 太平法寶 | 1593–1625 | Mạc | Mạc Kính Cung | - | |
| Khai Kiến Thông Bảo | 開建通寶 | 1593–1625 | Mạc | Mạc Kính Cung | ||
| Sùng Minh Thông Bảo | 崇明通寶 | 1593–1625 | Mạc | Mạc Kính Cung | ||
| Chính Nguyên Thông Bảo | 正元通寶 | 1593–1625 | Mạc | Mạc Kính Cung | - | |
| Vĩnh Thọ Thông Bảo | 永壽通寶 | 1658–1661 | Revival Lê | Lê Thần Tông | ||
| Tường Phù Nguyên Bảo | 祥符元寶 | 1659–1685 | Đức Xuyên | Đức Xuyên Gia Cương | - | |
| 治平通寶 | 1659–1685 | Đức Xuyên | Đức Xuyên Gia Cương | - | - | |
| Trị Bình Nguyên Bảo | 治平元寶 | 1659–1685 | Đức Xuyên | Đức Xuyên Gia Cương | - | |
| Nguyên Phong Thông Bảo | 元豊通寳 | 1659–1685 | Đức Xuyên | Đức Xuyên Gia Cương | - | |
| Hi Ninh Nguyên Bảo | 熈寧元寳 | 1659–1685 | Đức Xuyên | Đức Xuyên Gia Cương | - | |
| Thiệu Thánh Nguyên Bảo | 紹聖元寳 | 1659–1685 | Đức Xuyên | Đức Xuyên Gia Cương | - | |
| Gia Hựu Thông Bảo | 嘉祐通寳 | 1659–1685 | Đức Xuyên | Đức Xuyên Gia Cương | - | |
| Vĩnh Trị Thông Bảo | 永治通寶 | 1678–1680 | Revival Lê | Lê Hi Tông | ||
| Vĩnh Trị Nguyên Bảo | 永治元寶 | 1678–1680 | Revival Lê | Lê Hi Tông | - | |
| Vĩnh Trị Chí Bảo | 永治至寶 | 1678–1680 | Revival Lê | Lê Hi Tông | - | |
| Chính Hòa Thông Bảo | 正和通寶 | 1680–1705 | Revival Lê | Lê Hi Tông | ||
| Chính Hòa Nguyên Bảo | 正和元寶 | 1680–1705 | Revival Lê | Lê Hi Tông | - | |
| Vĩnh Thịnh Thông Bảo | 永聖通寶 | 1706–1719 | Revival Lê | Lê Dụ Tông | ||
| Bảo Thái Thông Bảo | 保泰通寶 | 1720–1729 | Revival Lê | Lê Dụ Tông | ||
| Thiên Minh Thông Bảo | 天明通寶 | 1738–1765 | Nguyễn lords | Nguyễn Phúc Khoát | ||
| Ninh Dân Thông Bảo | 寧民通宝 | 1739–1741 | - | Nguyễn Tuyển, Nguyễn Cừ, and Nguyễn Diên | ||
| Cảnh Hưng Thông Bảo | 景興通寶 | 1740–1786 | Revival Lê | Lê Hiển Tông | ||
| Cảnh Hưng Thông Bảo | 景興通宝 | 1740–1786 | Revival Lê | Lê Hiển Tông | ||
| Cảnh Hưng Trung Bảo | 景興中寶 | 1740–1786 | Revival Lê | Lê Hiển Tông | ||
| Cảnh Hưng Trung Bảo | 景興中宝 | 1740–1786 | Revival Lê | Lê Hiển Tông | ||
| Cảnh Hưng Chí Bảo | 景興至寶 | 1740–1786 | Revival Lê | Lê Hiển Tông | ||
| Cảnh Hưng Vĩnh Bảo | 景興永寶 | 1740–1786 | Revival Lê | Lê Hiển Tông | ||
| Cảnh Hưng Đại Bảo | 景興大寶 | 1740–1786 | Revival Lê | Lê Hiển Tông | ||
| Cảnh Hưng Thái Bảo | 景興太寶 | 1740–1786 | Revival Lê | Lê Hiển Tông | ||
| Cảnh Hưng Cự Bảo | 景興巨寶 | 1740–1786 | Revival Lê | Lê Hiển Tông | ||
| Cảnh Hưng Cự Bảo | 景興巨宝 | 1740–1786 | Revival Lê | Lê Hiển Tông | ||
| Cảnh Hưng Trọng Bảo | 景興重寶 | 1740–1786 | Revival Lê | Lê Hiển Tông | ||
| Cảnh Hưng Tuyền Bảo | 景興泉寶 | 1740–1786 | Revival Lê | Lê Hiển Tông | ||
| Cảnh Hưng Thuận Bảo | 景興順寶 | 1740–1786 | Revival Lê | Lê Hiển Tông | ||
| Cảnh Hưng Nội Bảo | 景興內寶 | 1740–1786 | Revival Lê | Lê Hiển Tông | ||
| Cảnh Hưng Nội Bảo | 景興內宝 | 1740–1786 | Revival Lê | Lê Hiển Tông | ||
| Cảnh Hưng Dụng Bảo | 景興用寶 | 1740–1786 | Revival Lê | Lê Hiển Tông | ||
| 景興踊寶 | 1740–1786 | Revival Lê | Lê Hiển Tông | - | ||
| Cảnh Hưng Lai Bảo | 景興來寶 | 1740–1786 | Revival Lê | Lê Hiển Tông | - | |
| Cảnh Hưng Thận Bảo | 景興慎寶 | 1740–1786 | Revival Lê | Lê Hiển Tông | - | |
| Cảnh Hưng Thọ Trường | 景興壽長 | 1740–1786 | Revival Lê | Lê Hiển Tông | - | |
| Cảnh Hưng Chính Bảo | 景興正寶 | 1740–1786 | Revival Lê | Lê Hiển Tông | ||
| Cảnh Hưng Anh Bảo | 景興英寶 | 1740–1786 | Revival Lê | Lê Hiển Tông | - | |
| Cảnh Hưng Tống Bảo | 景興宋寶 | 1740–1786 | Revival Lê | Lê Hiển Tông | ||
| Cảnh Hưng Thông Dụng | 景興通用 | 1740–1786 | Revival Lê | Lê Hiển Tông | ||
| Cảnh Hưng Lợi Bảo | 景興利寶 | 1740–1786 | Revival Lê | Lê Hiển Tông | - | |
| Thái Đức Thông Bảo | 泰德通寶 | 1778–1788 | Tây Sơn | Thái Đức | ||
| 南王通寶 | 1782–1786 | Trịnh lords | Trịnh Khải | - | ||
| 南王巨寶 | 1782–1786 | Trịnh lords | Trịnh Khải | - | ||
| Minh Đức Thông Bảo | 明德通寶 | 1787 | Tây Sơn | Thái Đức | - | |
| Chiêu Thống Thông Bảo | 昭統通寶 | 1787–1789 | Revival Lê | Lê Mẫn Đế | ||
| Quang Trung Thông Bảo | 光中通寶 | 1788–1792 | Tây Sơn | Quang Trung | ||
| Quang Trung Thông Bảo | 光中通宝 | 1788–1792 | Tây Sơn | Quang Trung | ||
| Quang Trung Đại Bảo | 光中大宝 | 1788–1792 | Tây Sơn | Quang Trung | ||
| Càn Long Thông Bảo An Nam | 乾隆通寶 安南 | 1788–1789 | Thanh | Càn Long Emperor | ||
| Cảnh Thịnh Thông Bảo | 景盛通寶 | 1793–1801 | Tây Sơn | Cảnh Thịnh | ||
| Cảnh Thịnh Đại Bảo | 景盛大寶 | 1793–1801 | Tây Sơn | Cảnh Thịnh | - | |
| Bảo Hưng Thông Bảo | 寶興通寶 | 1801–1802 | Tây Sơn | Cảnh Thịnh | ||
| 嘉興通寶 | 1802–1820 | Nguyễn | Gia Long | - | ||
| Gia Long Thông Bảo | 嘉隆通寶 | 1802–1820 | Nguyễn | Gia Long | ||
| Gia Long Cự Bảo | 嘉隆巨寶 | 1802–1820 | Nguyễn | Gia Long | - | |
| Minh Mạng Thông Bảo | 明命通寶 | 1820–1841 | Nguyễn | Minh Mạng | ||
| Trị Nguyên Thông Bảo | 治元通寶 | 1831–1834 | - | Lê Văn Khôi | ||
| Trị Bình Thông Bảo | 治平通寶 | 1831–1834 | - | Lê Văn Khôi | ||
| Nguyên Long Thông Bảo | 元隆通寶 | 1833–1835 | - | Nông Văn Vân | ||
| Thiệu Trị Thông Bảo | 紹治通寶 | 1841–1847 | Nguyễn | Thiệu Trị | ||
| Tự Đức Thông Bảo | 嗣德通寶 | 1847–1883 | Nguyễn | Tự Đức | ||
| Tự Đức Bảo Sao | 嗣德寶鈔 | 1861–1883 | Nguyễn | Tự Đức | ||
| Kiến Phúc Thông Bảo | 建福通寶 | 1883–1884 | Nguyễn | Kiến Phúc | - | |
| Hàm Nghi Thông Bảo | 咸宜通寶 | 1884–1885 | Nguyễn | Hàm Nghi | - | |
| Đồng Khánh Thông Bảo | 同慶通寶 | 1885–1888 | Nguyễn | Đồng Khánh | - | |
| Thành Thái Thông Bảo | 成泰通寶 | 1888–1907 | Nguyễn | Thành Thái | - | |
| Duy Tân Thông Bảo | 維新通寶 | 1907–1916 | Nguyễn | Duy Tân | - | |
| Khải Định Thông Bảo | 啓定通寶 | 1916–1925 | Nguyễn | Khải Định | - | |
| Bảo Đại Thông Bảo | 保大通寶 | 1926–1945 | Nguyễn | Bảo Đại | - |
Unidentified Vietnamese coins from 1600 and later
At various times many rebel leaders proclaimed themselves as Lords, Kings, and Emperors, and had produced their own coinage with their reign names and titles on them, but as their rebellions would prove unsuccessful or brief their reigns and titles would go unrecorded in Vietnamese history, therefore coins produced by their rebellions cannot easily be classified. Coins were also often privately cast and these coins were sometimes of high quality or well-made imitations of imperial coinage, though often they would bear the same inscriptions as already circulating coinage, sometimes they would have "newly invented" inscriptions. The Nguyễn lords that ruled over Southern Vietnam had also produced their own coinage at various times as they were the de facto kings of the South, but as their rule wasn't official, it is currently unknown what coins can be attributed to which Nguyễn lord. Though since Edouard Toda has made his list in 1882 several of the coins that he had described as "originating from the Quảng Nam province" have been ascribed to the Nguyễn lords that the numismatists of his time couldn't identify. During the rule of the Nguyễn lords many foundries for private mintage were also opened and many of these coins bear the same inscriptions as government cast coinage or even bear newly invented inscriptions making it hard to attribute these coins.The following list contains Vietnamese cash coins whose origins cannot be established:
| Inscription | Inscription | Notes | Toda image | Image |
| Thiệu Thánh Nguyên Bảo | 紹聖元寶 | |||
| Minh Định Tống Bảo | 明定宋寶 | "Tống Bảo" is written in Seal script. | ||
| Cảnh Nguyên Thông Bảo | 景元通寶 | Appears in both Regular script, and Seal script. | ||
| Thánh Tống Nguyên Bảo | 聖宋元寶 | |||
| Càn Nguyên Thông Bảo | 乾元通寶 | Produced in the upper parts of Northern Vietnam. | ||
| Phúc Bình Nguyên Bảo | 福平元寶 | Written in Seal script. | ||
| Thiệt Quý Thông Bảo | 邵癸通寶 | Written in both Running hand and Seal script. | ||
| Dương Nguyên Thông Bảo | 洋元通寶 | Appear in multiple sizes. | ||
| Thiệu Phù Nguyên Bảo | 紹符元寶 | Written in Seal script. | ||
| Nguyên Phù Thông Bảo | 元符通寶 | Written in Seal script. | ||
| Đại Cung Thánh Bảo | 大工聖寶 | |||
| Đại Hòa Thông Bảo | 大和通寶 | The reverse is rimless. | ||
| Cảnh Thì Thông Bảo | 景底通寶 | The "" closely resembles a "" | ||
| Thiên Nguyên Thông Bảo | 天元通寶 | A variant exists where the "" is written in Seal script. | ||
| Nguyên Trị Thông Bảo | 元治通寶 | The characters "" and "" are written in Seal script. | ||
| Hoàng Hi Tống Bảo | 皇熙宋寶 | |||
| Khai Thánh Nguyên Bảo | 開聖元寶 | |||
| Thiệu Thánh Thông Bảo | 紹聖通寶 | |||
| Thiệu Thánh Bình Bảo | 紹聖平寶 | the reverse is rimless. | ||
| Thiệu Tống Nguyên Bảo | 紹宋元寶 | |||
| Tường Tống Thông Bảo | 祥宋通寶 | |||
| Tường Thánh Thông Bảo | 祥聖通寶 | |||
| Hi Tống Nguyên Bảo | 熙宋元寶 | |||
| Ứng Cảm Nguyên Bảo | 應感元寶 | |||
| Thống Phù Nguyên Bảo | 統符元寶 | |||
| Hi Thiệu Nguyên Bảo | 熙紹元寶 | |||
| Chính Nguyên Thông Bảo | 正元通寶 | Variants exist with rimmed and rimless reverses, as well as one where there's a dot or a crescent on the reverse. | ||
| Thiên Đức Nguyên Bảo | 天德元寶 | |||
| Hoàng Ân Thông Bảo | 皇恩通寶 | |||
| Thái Thánh Thông Bảo | 太聖通寶 | |||
| Đại Thánh Thông Bảo | 大聖通寶 | |||
| Chánh Hòa Thông Bảo | 政和通寶 | A variant exists where there's a crescent a dot on the reverse, and another one with only the crescent. | ||
| Thánh Cung Tứ Bảo | 聖宮慈寶 | - | ||
| Thánh Trần Thông Bảo | 聖陳通寶 | - | ||
| Đại Định Thông Bảo | 大定通寶 | - | ||
| Chính Long Nguyên Bảo | 正隆元寶 | - | ||
| Hi Nguyên Thông Bảo | 熙元通寶 | - | ||
| Cảnh Nguyên Thông Bảo | 景元通寶 | - | ||
| Tống Nguyên Thông Bảo | 宋元通寶 | - | ||
| Thiên Thánh Nguyên Bảo | 天聖元寶 | - | ||
| Thánh Nguyên Thông Bảo | 聖元通寶 | - | ||
| Chính Pháp Thông Bảo | 正法通寶 | - | ||
| Tây Dương Phù Bảo | 西洋符寶 | - | ||
| Tây Dương Bình Bảo | 西洋平寶 | - | ||
| An Pháp Nguyên Bảo | 安法元寶 | Most often attributed to Lê Lợi. | ||
| Bình Nam Thông Bảo | 平南通寶 | Often attributed to the Nguyễn lords. | - |
Machine-struck cash coins made by the French government
During the time that Vietnam was under French administration, the French started minting cash coins for circulation first for within the colony of Cochinchina and then for the other regions of Vietnam. These coins were minted in Paris and were all struck as opposed to the contemporary cast coinage that already circulated within Vietnam.After the French had annexed Cochinchina from the Vietnamese, cash coins would remain to circulate in the region and depending on their weight and metal were accepted at 600 to 1000 cash coins for a single Mexican or Spanish 8 real coin or 1 piastre. In 1870 the North German company Dietrich Uhlhorn started privately minting machine-struck Tự Đức Thông Bảo coins as the demand for cash coins in French Cochinchina was high. The coin weighed 4 grams which was close to the official weight of 10 phần which was the standard used by the imperial government at the time. Around 1875 the French introduced holed 1 cent coins styled after the Vietnamese cash. In 1879 the French introduced the Cochinchinese Sapèque with a nominal value of piastre, but the Vietnamese population at the time still preferred the old Tự Đức Thông Bảo coins despite their lower nominal value. The weight and size of the French Indochinese 1 cent coin was reduced and the coin was holed in 1896 in order to appear more similar to cash coins, this was done to reflect the practice of stringing coins together and be carried on a belt or pole because Oriental garments at the time did not have pockets. The French production of machine-struck cash coins was halted in 1902. As there were people in Hanoi and Saigon that did not want to give up on the production of machine-struck cash coins, a committee decided to strike zinc Sapèque coins with a nominal value of piastre, these coins were produced at the Paris Mint and were dated 1905 despite being put into circulation only in 1906. These coins corroded and broke quite easily which made them unpopular and their production quickly ceased.
After Khải Định became Emperor in 1916, Hanoi reduced the funds to cast Vietnamese cash coins which had a dissatisfying effect on the Vietnamese market as the demand for cash coins remained high, so another committee was formed in Hanoi that ordered the creation of machine-struck copper-alloy Khải Định Thông Bảo cash coins to be minted in Haiphong, these coins weighed more than the old French Sapèques and were around 2.50 grams and were accepted at piastre. There were 27 million Khải Định Thông Bảo of the first variant produced, while the second variant of the machine-struck Khải Định Thông Bảo had a mintage of 200 million, which was likely continued after the ascension of Emperor Bảo Đại in 1926 which was normal as previous Vietnamese emperors also kept producing cash coins with the inscription of their predecessors for a period of time. Emperor Bảo Đại had ordered the creation of cast Bảo Đại Thông Bảo cash coins again which weighed 3.2 gram in 1933, while the French simultaneously began minting machine-struck coins with the same inscription that weighed 1.36 grams and were probably valued at piastre. There were two variants of this cash coins where one had a large "大" while the other had a smaller "大".
| Denomination | Obverse inscription Hán tự | Reverse inscription | Metal | Years of mintage | Image |
| 2 Sapèque | 當二 – 大法國之安南 | Cochinchine Française | copper | 1879–1885 | |
| 2 Sapèque | 當二 – 大法國之安南 | Indo-Chine Française | copper | 1887–1902 | |
| 1 Sapèque | 六百分之一 – 通寶 | Protectorat du Tonkin | zinc | 1905 | |
| 1 Sapèque | 啓定通寶 | Copper-alloy | 1921–1925 | ||
| 1 Sapèque | 保大通寶 | Copper-alloy | 1933–1945 |
| Gallery and notes |
| There were several efforts by French administration to produce machine-struck cash : |
| Emperors Khải Định and Bảo Đại produced both cast and machine-struck cash. |
Recovery of cash coins in modern Vietnam
In modern Vietnam the supply of undiscovered cash coins is rapidly declining as large amounts of Vietnamese cash coins were excavated during the 1980s and 1990s, in Vietnam the excavation of antiques such as cash coins is an industry in itself and the cash coins are mostly being dug up by farmers. After the Vietnam War ended in 1975 a large number of metal detectors numbering in the many thousands were left behind in the former area of South Vietnam which helped fuel the rise of this industry. The antique bronze industry is mostly concentrated in small rural villages where farmers rent metal detectors to search their own lands for bronze antiques to then either sell as scrap or to dealers, these buyers purchase lumps of cash coins by either kilogramme or ton to then hire skilled people to search through these lumps of cash coins for sellable specimens, these coins are then sold to other dealers in Vietnam, China, and Japan. During the zenith of the coin recovery business in Vietnam the number of bulk coins found on a monthly basis was fifteen tons but only roughly fifteen kilogrammes of those coins were sellable and the rest of the coins would melted down as scrap metal. As better metal detectors that could search deeper more Vietnamese cash coins were discovered but in modern times the supply of previously undiscovered Vietnamese cash coins is quickly diminishing.In modern times many Vietnamese cash coins are found in sunken shipwrecks which are mandated by Vietnamese law to be the property of the Vietnamese government as salvaged ships of which the owner was unknown belong to the state.
Notable recent large finds of cash coins in Vietnam include 100 kilogrammes of Chinese cash coins and 35 kilogrammes of Vietnamese cash coins being unearthed in the province of Quảng Trị in 2007, 52.9 kilogrammes of Chinese and Vietnamese cash coins being unearthed in a cemetery in Haiphong in 2008, 50 kilogrammes of cash coins in the province of Hà Nam in 2015, and some Nagasaki trade coins in the province of Hà Tĩnh in 2018.