The coins with characters "Thai Binh hung bao" presented in many books of ancient coins of Vietnam that published in Vietnam and foreign countries in which there are two types of coin with characters "Thai Binh hung bao" issued in Dinh Tien Hoang king of Dinh dynasty:
The coins with characters "Thai Binh hung bao" presented in many books of ancient coins of Vietnam that published in Vietnam and foreign countries in which there are two types of coin with characters "Thai Binh hung bao" issued in Dinh Tien Hoang king of Dinh dynasty:
- First type: the coins with characters "Thai Binh hung bao" that its back without character and the characters "Thai Binh hung bao" are read by cross.
- Second type: the coins with characters "Thai Binh hung bao" that its back with character "Dinh" (meaning Dinh dynasty). That's why, they are evidences demonstrated the coins of Dinh dynasty had been existent.
In this paper, the writer would like discussing on the character "Thai" designed on these coins with characters "Thai Binh hung bao". The writer has seen and touched many coins "Thai Binh hung bao" but there are no any signals that showed this is not character "Thai" but character "Dai". Before, it 's can be read "Thai" by some researchers who studied base on only the recorded documents. Infact, Dinh Bo Linh leader (Dinh Tien hoang king later), after defeating 12 other war-lords, has established the Dai Co Viet State, self-declared emperor "Dai Thang Minh Hoang De" and 4 years later (January 970) he set up the year name "Thai Binh".
In the Chinese book "records of ancient coin history", Sung dynasty, 10th - 13th century written by Hong Tuan confirmed the existence of the coins "Thai Binh hung bao" and he also discribed them detailed. So what are these coins?
According to the writer of this paper, this is not the coins "Thai Binh hung bao" but "Dai Binh hung bao" because:
- First, although some researchers maintained that: the feature of character "Thai" was missed by mould (casted technique) that's why it is look like the character "Dai", the writer affirmed the current character decorated on this coin is not "Thai" but "Dai" because he has seen and touched a lot of coins with character "Thai". Moreover, in Vietnam now, there are also the coins with the feature of character "Thai" are not missed such as: "Thai An thong bao", "Thai Hoa bao phong",…
In addition, some other researchers maintained that: the character "Thai" is a taboo name. that's why the character "Thai" is read into the character "Dai". The writer has studied and found that: it's same time, the Tong Thai Tong king (976 - 983) of Sung dynasty, China had set up his year name is "Thai Binh hung quoc" and also had casted the coins "Thai Binh hung bao".
- Second, according to the history of Vietnamese ancient coins, there were a lot of coins with the character "Dai" of the dynasties of Ly, Tran, Early Le, Mac,… All of these "Dai" characters are very clear and written in diffirent types. So why aren't there the coins with the characters "Dai Binh hung bao"?
- Third, the character "Dai" of the Dinh dynasty is not only designed on the coins but also on the bricks which excavated in Hoa Lu ancient citadel (capital of the Dinh dynasty, 10th century) or otherones at the cultural layer that is dated in 10th century in Thang Long royal citadel with the characters "
Dai Viet quoc quan thanh chuyen" (bricks stamped with name of military unit).
- Final, in the anient coin collection of Nguyen Dinh Su collector, the writer also saw a strange coin with the characters "Dai Viet thong bao" which resembles the coins "Dai Binh hung bao", that's why the writer thought that: this is the coins of the Dinh Tien Hoang king. And he will continue this subject in his next specialize paper in which he will explaine and compare more clear of the weight, measurement, metal composition, calligraphy,… of these coins with character "Dai".