This is the second time I have seen this gold Vietnamese Emperor Minh Mang (1820-40) presentation piece offered on eBay. It is now under item number 170537328789. The seller resides somewhere in China. In my opinion, the piece is a modern copy for several reasons but I will not describe why here at this time.

Owl counterstamp The VERY interesting detail on this coin is an owl countermark at around 5 o'clock on the obverse side that almost touches the (bottom) Mang character. It does not look like anything I have seen for a Chinese countermark, but it is very much like a mintmaster and engraver mark found on French coins.

Many modern copies of Vietnamese presentation pieces were made in Paris, so there might be a connection. Does anyone recognize this owl countermark? Has anyone seen it on other Vietnamese pieces or other pieces?

To view the eBay item, see:Vietnam Ming Ming 1820-41 Gold coin 1-1/2 Tien Rare(http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170537328789)