In the treasure trove of 6 tons of ancient coins, there are jars of coins that Mr. Thao had to exchange for many taels of gold, but there are also jars weighing hundreds of kilograms that he did not spend a single penny to buy.
In the coin collecting world, Mr. Nguyen Van Thao (49 years old, residing in Bac Ninh) is known as the ‘king of ancient coins’ not only because he has a huge amount of money, more than 6 tons, spanning the history of the feudal dynasties of Vietnam, but he also has other unique collections. In the pH๏τo, a hexagonal jar of coins after being excavated is placed on the back of a turtle made of clove wood.
Mr. Thao has a treasure trove of many collections of the most unique and beautiful jars of coins in Vietnam. Many jars of coins of all kinds were excavated from many lands corresponding to different dynasties.
Each jar of ancient money is a profound memory of the journey wandering through the nooks and crannies of the northern mountainous provinces. Some jars had to be exchanged with a fortune in the form of mortgage money or many gold bars to get. In the pH๏τo is the jar of ‘money and prosperity’ with rolls of money neatly arranged in the shape of a beautiful gold bar.
But there are also jars weighing nearly 100kg that he did not spend a penny to buy, but only had to transport them. To have such beautiful and unique jars of ancient money, he has painstakingly collected them for over 20 years. Whenever there is a rumor of ancient money being discovered somewhere, he is there to see and buy them. After buying and bringing home intact jars, he carefully polishes them to avoid breaking them, then stores them neatly in a corner of the house to avoid collision.
As for the broken jars of money, he meticulously removed the pieces of pottery, leaving the dirt and copper rust on them intact, and carefully placed them on a stand.
A horizontal cylindrical jar of ancient coins was discovered by Mr. Thao with the jute rope used to string the coins intact.
Dirt sticks to the rusty copper layer from the strings of coins after hundreds of years buried underground.
The timeless jute strings that string the coins together form a unified block. They are still very strong even though the metal layer from these coins has rusted.
Dozens of kilograms of ancient coins were stored in a rare bronze jar that Mr. Thao collected. According to him, this bronze jar has a different shape compared to other jars. It has a dome shape, with a wide mouth. The coins inside are rusted and solidified into a block attached to the jar’s shell. ‘It is very possible that it is a piece of property that was reburied with an official or royal family,’ Mr. Thao said.
The earthy and rusty colors indicate the time and place where the ancient coins were discovered. This is very important in the discovery and excavation of other artifacts. In addition to the historical value of these jars and coins, they also have cultural value.
A very sturdy hexagonal jar of money. In the middle are loose coins piled together.
In the process of collecting, to verify the objects containing money, in addition to the experience and knowledge learned, players also need to try many other methods such as chiseling and carving the jar shell to make a sample. This is also a way for collectors to determine the age of buried money according to ceramic and porcelain pieces.
In addition, in Mr. Nguyen Van Thao’s collection there are many types of metal coins in the form of gold, silver bars, royal bonuses, and treasury money with different denominations. In the pH๏τo, a 38-gram silver bar has images of deer and animals printed on it.
Many types of money in the form of people, tokens, and knives have undetermined dates.
