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Located in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City, the Ho Chi Minh City Museum houses numerous documents and artifacts related to the history of Saigon's formation, urban development, and cultural and economic life.
Besides exhibits about urban life, the revolution, and the life of old Saigon, the museum also possesses many artifacts related to commercial activities and trade throughout different periods. In particular, the exhibition of ancient Vietnamese coins offers a fascinating perspective on the history of currency and trade across various eras, from metal coins of the feudal period to artifacts reflecting the trading and exchange of goods by Vietnamese people from the past to the present within the flow of history.
Although it's just a small corner of the museum, the area displaying ancient coins encompasses the flow of trade in Vietnam over many centuries.
From the first coins of the Vietnamese people
Money is a medium of exchange for goods and services found in most countries around the world. Whether made of copper, silver, gold, or paper, currency always reflects, to some extent, the economic level, trade activities, and social structure of each historical period.
In Vietnam, the oldest known ancient coin bears the inscription "Thai Binh Hung Bao" from the Dinh Dynasty (968-980). From then on, through feudal dynasties such as the Early Le, Ly, Tran, Later Le to the Nguyen, metal coins bearing the inscription of the reigning king continued to be widely used in daily life.
Coins in circulation during feudal Vietnam were typically minted from copper or copper alloys.
Vietnamese coins from the feudal era generally shared a design with a circular shape, a square hole in the center, and four Chinese characters engraved on the front. The first two characters were usually the reign name of the king, such as Thái Bình, Quang Trung, Minh Mạng, or Duy Tân, while the last two characters were often Thông Bảo, Nguyên Bảo, or Đại Bảo, indicating the type of coin.
These coins not only held monetary value but also reflected the monetary management thinking and craftsmanship of each period. Some Nguyen Dynasty coins were quite exquisitely minted, with sharp lettering and relatively uniform copper material. Conversely, some alloy coins were impure or thinner and lighter, partly reflecting economic difficulties and metal shortages during periods of historical upheaval.
"Thieu Tri Thong Bao" is a coin minted during the reign of Emperor Thieu Tri, the third emperor of the Nguyen dynasty, who ruled from 1841 to 1847.
Besides coins, the exhibition also features silver and gold ingots and gold and silver reward coins that were used during the Later Le Dynasty and the Nguyen Dynasty, along with some land sale deeds, house purchase deeds, and ancient financial documents from the 10th year of Thai Duc's reign and the Nguyen Dynasty under Emperor Minh Mang. These artifacts reflect, to some extent, the monetary circulation and high-value exchange methods in Vietnamese feudal society.
Land sale deeds, house sale deeds, receipts from the feudal era
Silver ingots during the Nguyen Dynasty
When paper money began to appear
One of the topics discussed in the exhibition is the transition from metal coins to paper money in Vietnamese history. According to historical records, paper money was first issued by Ho Quy Ly at the end of the Tran Dynasty in 1396, marking one of the first times paper money appeared in Vietnam.
Decision to issue Vietnamese banknotes by the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam.
During the French colonial period, the monetary system continued to undergo significant changes. Copper and zinc coins were gradually replaced by silver coins without a square hole in the center. Simultaneously, Indochinese paper money and banknotes began to circulate more widely until the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam issued the Bank of Vietnam currency.
Coins, mints, and banknotes of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
When history is in the palm of your hand.
Unlike many archaeological artifacts that are merely for display, ancient coins are items that were once in real circulation in society. They passed through the hands of merchants, officials, and ordinary people, appearing in markets, on merchant ships, and along trade routes for centuries.
Some of the coins at the exhibition have almost completely worn away their patterns, with only a few faint Chinese characters remaining. But it is precisely this wear and tear that makes the artifacts more vibrant, because it shows that these coins truly existed in everyday life instead of being created merely for preservation or display.
The "Bao Dai Bao Giam" reward money was made of gold.
The reward money (money belt) from the Nguyen Dynasty was made of silver.
A notable aspect of the exhibition lies in the detailed annotations accompanying each artifact. Besides the name, minting year, or year of issue, many coins are also described in terms of their exchange value, the dynasty in which they were circulated, the materials used, and the historical context in which they were used. This allows viewers not only to see the antique items behind glass but also to gain a clearer understanding of how Vietnamese people traded, bought, sold, and conducted their economic lives throughout different periods.
A detailed description of the ancient coin minting process.
A table below provides detailed information about the names and minting years of the coins on display.
Compared to the areas displaying ancient statues or war artifacts, which usually attract more visitors, the antique coin exhibition at the Ho Chi Minh City Museum is relatively quiet and not particularly visually striking. However, this also makes the experience of viewing the exhibition here more leisurely. Within the old Indochinese architectural space, trays of copper coins covered in the patina of time, worn banknotes, and old transaction documents create a feeling of unfolding layers of history through the smallest and most familiar objects of human life.
