Coin Viet Nam Fr. Prot. of Annam, Thành Thái - 10 Phan - 1893 / 1907

This 10 phân coin was issued during the reign of Emperor Thành Thái, ruler of the Nguy?n dynasty, between 1893 and 1907.

From a historical perspective, the reign of Thành Thái (1889?1907) took place in the context of a firmly established French protectorate over Annam and Tonkin. Imperial authority, although maintained in its symbolic and ceremonial dimension, was considerably reduced in the face of French colonial administration. Thành Thái is nonetheless known for having shown a degree of opposition to foreign domination, seeking to preserve a form of national sovereignty. He also demonstrated a marked interest in the modernisation of the country and maintained ties with certain reformist movements. In 1907, the French authorities, considering him politically inconvenient, forced him to abdicate by invoking his alleged mental instability, before sending him into exile. After a period of house arrest in V?ng Tàu, he was ultimately deported to Réunion in 1916 following his alleged involvement in movements hostile to the French presence.

This period was also marked by the emergence of the first modern Vietnamese nationalist movements, which developed in reaction to the growing grip of colonial administration over all of French Indochina. The coinage issued under Thành Thái thus bears witness to an era of profound political transformation, in which the imperial institution still survived, but within a framework largely dominated by colonial power.