Tibet Silver Coin 1 Tangka Thubten Gyatso

Weight 4.6 grams
Silver
Purity ?
Estimated Bullion value = ?

This is a Ga-den tangka date from 1850 and these were struck till 1948. Thirteen major varieties in design have been catalogued. In all, there are at least 37 known minor varieties, but possibly 50 or more that could be noted. The obverse of the coins show the eight auspicious symbols (Tibetan: bkra shis rtags brgad) of Tibetan Buddhism: umbrella of sovereignty, two golden fish of good fortune, amphora of ambrosia, lotus, conch shell, emblem of endless rebirth, banner of victory and wheel of empire. These are usually arrayed around a central lotus. Their actual order and specific designs varied over time. The two sides of the coin have the same orientation. Starting from the top, the legend in Tibetan on the reverse says: dga'-ldan pho-brang-phyod-las-rnam-rgyal (The Palace of Ga-den is victorious in all directions). The legend is written in such a way as to fit into eight circles. These are actually derived from an earlier style in which the characters were inside lotus petals. The purity of these coin was so high that you could exchange 3 ga-den tangka for 1 British India rupees. I think I have about a hundred of these coins in my collection and still haven't had the time to sort all of them out.

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