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6 Tiền - Bao Dai
| Issuer | Empire of Vietnam |
|---|---|
| Year | 1926-1945 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 37 mm |
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| Obverse description | The obverse features four large Chinese characters arranged in a cruciform pattern around a central motif: 保 (Bảo) at top, 寳 (Bảo) at right, 鑑 (Giám) at left, and 大 (Đại) at bottom, together reading 保大寳鑑 (Bảo Đại Bảo Giám). At the centre of the field, a stylised flaming sun or lotus device is rendered in low relief, serving as the focal point of the composition. The entire design is enclosed within a beaded inner border running along the coin's circumference. Two small suspension holes are pierced at the top and bottom of the flan, indicating this piece was intended to be worn or suspended. The execution is characteristic of Vietnamese imperial court goldwork of the Nguyễn dynasty period. |
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| Obverse lettering | 保大寳鑑 (Translation: Bao Dai Bao Chien) |
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| Additional information |
Bảo Đại ascended the throne in 1926 as a teenager freshly returned from schooling in France, and his coinage reflects the peculiar administrative hybrid that French Indochina had become — nominally imperial Vietnamese, practically colonial. The 6 Tiền denomination in gold was never a circulation piece in any conventional sense; it functioned within a tributary and ceremonial economy that the French tolerated because it cost them nothing to permit.
Bảo Đại abdicated in August 1945 under Việt Minh pressure, handing his seal and sword to Hồ Chí Minh's representatives — effectively ending the issuing authority behind this coinage permanently.