1535

NGUYEN DYNASTY (ANNAM): AR bai badge (6.01g). VF-EF

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / World Coins - Asia & Middle-East Start Price:120.00 USD Estimated At:150.00 - 200.00 USD
NGUYEN DYNASTY (ANNAM): AR bai badge (6.01g). VF-EF
SOLD
120.00USD+ (24.00) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2021 Jan 22 @ 17:32UTC-8 : PST/AKDT
PLEASE NOTE: You must request a bid limit when you register. If you would like to have a large bid limit, you must provide adequate references, or you must have previously established strong credit history with our company. Late registration may result in delayed approval.
NGUYEN DYNASTY (ANNAM): AR bài badge (6.01g), Sylvester—, 36 x 59mm, BAN-HOI-TE ("meeting committee") across field, with the Chu Nom equivalent below in central rectangle flanked by laurel branches, scroll above engraved with TRAVINH, colored with red enamel in center & along the edge, pierced at top & bottom for suspension, VF-EF, ex John Sylvester Jr. Collection. The ban hôi tê was the local council that effectively ruled villages & towns across southern Vietnam before 1953. It controlled all aspects of village life and was responsible for maintaining the social order, which largely evolved around tenant farming. While theoretically composed of the wisest & most honorable members of the community, the positions were in reality held by the wealthiest landlords, or the few who could afford the hefty bribe for a seat (reportedly costing 1,000 piastres in one rural district, or the equivalent of around $5000 today). Members of the ban hôi tê operated above the law, with little accountability to the imperial court or the French colonial government later. They were feared and avoided by the average people, and were naturally the target of assassinations by the Viet Minh during the 1940 's & '50 's.