7 Tiền - Minh Mạng Thông Bảo

Minh Mạng, who reigned from 1820 to 1841, was the most administratively ambitious of the Nguyễn emperors — he reorganized Vietnam's provinces, suppressed Catholic missionaries with increasing severity, and overhauled the imperial coinage system inherited from his father Gia Long. The 7 tiền denomination sat near the top of the silver coin hierarchy, issued in quantities that reflected state ceremony and tributary exchange rather than everyday commerce.

KM#190 and KM#191 represent distinct varieties within this type, differing in calligraphic rendering of the cash inscription — a distinction that mattered to contemporary officials receiving them as salary payments from the imperial treasury.