During a recent excavation of Thoai Ngoc Hau and his wives’ tombs by local researchers from the Viet Nam Institute of Technology last September 19, something else was also unearthed: a coin dating back to the Tay Son Dynasty (1778-1802). Called Minh Duc Thong Bao, the coin was minted during Nguyen Nhac’s rule from 1788-1793. Thoai Ngoc Hau was a well-known general who co-founded the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945) with Nguyen Anh. He and his wives were buried in the southern province of An Giang.

Local experts from the said institution dug the graves of Hau’s first and second wives, Chau Thi Te and Truong Thi Met, respectively, where they accidentally unearthed the coin. Other artifacts were found near the two tombs, but the discovery of the coin was considered a breakthrough by the archaeologists.

The discovery of the Minh Duc Thong Bao coin formulated theories of a well-hidden secret during the dynasty’s reign that was kept for a very long time. One speculation is the possibility of the powerful couple to have had a connection with the Tay Son movement, the Nguyen kings’ enemies, and that the coin was kept as a remembrance, disregarding the harm it could create once discovered. And when the first wife Chau Thi Te died in 1826, the famous high-ranking mandarin must have buried it with her.

Artifacts discovered during the excavation were found not inside, but outside the graves. This was also seen as an important lesson during the activity, noting the alternative ways that the Nguyen dynasty practiced burying their dead.

All in all, the excavation of the famous tombs unearthed 523 objects, ranging in extremes from pottery to bronzeware. But the most important find was to be the coin, along with a hat decorated with 33 gems, assumed to have belonged to Hau.