A Vietnamese Royal Silver Bar

Stephen Tai
Apr.10, 1998

Dimensions: 121(L) x 29(W) x 13(H)
Weight: 375 g (10 Taels)
Obverse: 3 inscriptions, from top to down, severally are Ming Min, Kuei Sze, Nei Tang. The first two inscriptions jointly mean: The Year of Kuei Sze in Ming Min Period (i.e. the 13^th year of Tao Kuang or 1833 AD); the third inscription Nei Tang means the royal treasure. Reverse: Engraved character Ji.
Left Side: Jong Ping [meaning unknown]
Right Side: Kong Sheng [meaning unknown]
Front End:Kang Kang, means checked.

The Shown 10-tael silver bar was a typical official silver currency circulated in the years of Ming Min reign in Vietnam.
The inscription of Nei Tang, indicates that this bar silver had once been used in the palace of the kingdom, as royal treasure.
The average purity of Vietnamese silver ingots were better than Thailand's or Burma's, which had been commonly recognized by Chinese, especially the people of Yunnan. In Yunnan during late Ching dynasty Vietnamese silver ingots were valued the same as Saddle Sycee, and the other two would be depreciated.

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