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1 Văn - Hán Nguyên
| Issuer | Hồ Dynasty |
|---|---|
| Year | 1403-1407 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round with a square hole |
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| Obverse description | Cast copper cash coin centred on a raised-rim square perforation, around which four Chinese characters are arranged in the traditional cruciform reading order (top, right, bottom, left): 漢元通寶 (Hán Yuán Tōng Bǎo). The bold regular-script (kaishu) characters are rendered in raised relief against a flat field, separated by the inner square rim of the central aperture. The outer border is a plain raised rim with no additional ornamentation, consistent with the utilitarian cast coinage tradition of the Hồ Dynasty. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain reverse with a flat, unadorned field surrounding the central square perforation, enclosed by a raised inner rim and a plain outer border. No inscriptions, symbols, or mint marks are present. The surface exhibits the characteristic granular texture of cast bronze coinage, with areas of dark patination typical of excavated or long-circulated Vietnamese cash coins of the early fifteenth century. |
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| Additional information |
The Hồ Dynasty lasted barely seven years. Hồ Quý Ly seized the Trần throne in 1400 after decades of consolidating power as a court official, declared the new dynasty, and was conquered by Ming China in 1407 — the invasion ending Vietnamese independence for the next two decades. These coins circulated during that compressed window of political rupture, struck by a regime that simultaneously introduced Vietnam's first paper currency, making the copper coinage almost secondary to the monetary experiment Hồ Quý Ly was running alongside it.