SEAArch - The Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsblog

07 July 2007 (Nhan Dan) - A pot filled with copper coins dating to the Tang dynasty (7-10th centuries AD) was found by a farmer in North Vietnam. Up to the 11th century, much of Northern Vietnam was part of imperial Chinese territory.

Tang dynasty money discovered in central Vietnam

A scrap metal collector has struck treasure in the central coastal province of Quang Binh, with a find of centuries-old Chinese coins believed to date back to the Tang dynasty of China.

Nguyen Duc Dung from Le Thuy district, discovered the pot of copper coins as he was digging in a rice field on July 5.

Most of the coins are clearly engraved on one side with four letters from ancient Chinese scripts of the period with the other side left clear.

Provincial museum Director Tran Anh Tuan said the design showed that the coins were probably minted in the 8th – 9th centuries.

“These coins were found in Quang Binh province because the money was circulated into Vietnam for trading during the heyday of the Tang dynasty,” said the artifact expert.

Dung uncovered some 20 kilogrammes in total which he sold at VND 200,000 (US $12.5) per kilogramme.

Books about ancient Vietnam under China:
- Vietnam: An Illustrated History (Illustrated Histories) by L. S. Woods
- The Birth of Vietnam by K. W. Taylor

Tags: coins, Quang Binh province, Tang Dynasty, Tran Anh Tuan, Vietnam Archaeology

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.