Catalog
1 Văn - Lập Nguyên Unofficial coin
| Issuer | Empire of Vietnam |
|---|---|
| Year | |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 23.0 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse lettering | 立 寶 通 元 (Translation: Lập Nguyên Thông Bảo) |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The Lập Nguyên coinage dates to the fleeting August 1945 government of Trần Trọng Kim, Vietnam's first nominally independent cabinet under Emperor Bảo Đại following the Japanese ouster of French colonial administration. The regime lasted roughly five months before Hồ Chí Minh's Việt Minh seized power in the August Revolution. Coins of this period occupy an ambiguous position — produced outside the formal French Indochinese monetary apparatus, their unofficial status means striking quality and alloy consistency were never standardized.
Zinc was the only practical option; wartime Japan had long stripped the region of copper and other nonferrous metals for military production.