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1/4 Lang - Tự Đức
| Issuer | Empire of Vietnam |
|---|---|
| Year | 1848-1883 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Tiền (1400-1945) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Chinese (Chữ Hán) |
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| Reverse description | Central square hole encircled by an elaborate, finely detailed coiling dragon rendered in high relief, its frontal face visible at the top of the field with whiskers, horns, and flaming mane clearly delineated. The sinuous body wraps around the central perforation, accompanied by stylised auspicious cloud and flame motifs filling the field in a dense, dynamic composition characteristic of Nguyễn dynasty Vietnamese imperial coinage. No inscriptions appear on this face; the dragon motif serves as the sole decorative and symbolic element within a plain raised border. |
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| Additional information |
Tự Đức reigned longer than any other Nguyễn emperor — 36 years — but his reign was anything but stable. French forces seized Saigon in 1859 and had formalized control over Cochinchina by 1862, progressively dismantling the empire's southern revenues while this coin remained in circulation. The treasury was under chronic strain, and silver coinage from this period was produced inconsistently, with quality varying noticeably across the reign's three-plus decades.
The lang itself was a weight-based monetary unit inherited from Chinese practice, and the quarter denomination served practical daily commerce in a system that never fully standardized its fractional relationships.