5 Tiền - Tự Đức

Tự Đức reigned during one of the most pressured periods in Vietnamese history, navigating French encroachment that culminated in the 1862 Treaty of Saigon ceding Cochinchina — a concession that drained the imperial treasury and destabilized the monetary system he had inherited. Silver coinage of this reign was cast rather than struck, using traditional sand-casting methods that had defined Vietnamese monetary production for centuries, and the variation in weight and surface texture between pieces reflects that process directly.

The 35-year span of this type means examples were produced under dramatically different fiscal conditions, early issues preceding the French treaties and later ones circulating as the empire contracted around them.