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Auction: 25088 - The Nicholas Rhodes Collection of Nepalese Coins Part I
Lot: 308

Nepal, in the name of Chandra Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana (27 June 1901-26 November 1929), uniface silver Medal, VS 1971 (1914), Chandra Shamshere Jang Bahadur Rana, Prime Minister of Nepal, facing left with ceremonial crown, artist’s initials A.B.-J below, legend in Sanskrit around: Bhavac-caranarajo-rañjitaś –Candra- śamśer Nepal 1971, Chandra Shamshere, having taken delight in the dust of your feet, Nepal 1971, 23mm, 15.08g, edge plain, with handsome toning and flashy proof-like surfaces, extremely fine and very rare

Provenance

The Nicholas Rhodes Collection of Nepalese Coins and Medals: Part One

This medal has been discussed by Nicholas Rhodes in an article from which we quote: Rhodes, Nicholas:
“A Portrait Medal from Nepal” Spink’s Numismatic Circular, London, April 1984, p. 77

Rhodes article on this type of medal also contains the following remarks regarding the history and the use of this interesting item: “The use to which this medallion was put is rather unusual, as it was made especially for inserting in the marble floor of the holy shrine of the temple of Pashupatinath in the Kathmandu Valley. It has been suggested (C.B. Shrestha, “Why Tread on the Silver Coins?”, Vasudha, Vol. 13, No. 8, July-August 1970) that the main reason for the placing of these silver portraits in the floor was an act of penance by Chandra Shamshere to expiate the sin of having ousted his brother Dev Shamshere (ruled 5 March to 27 June 1901) from the post of Prime Minister at the point of a gun in 1901.

The medallion was almost certainly made in England, probably in Birmingham, which would explain the appearance of this trial striking in the U.K. I have not found any illustration or specimen of the piece in the Birmingham records, but James O. Sweeny (A Numismatic History of the Birmingham Mint, Birmingham, 1981, p. 191) records that “dies were made for Nepal again in 1914, but no evidence of specimen coins having been produced has shown up”. Could this be the die produced at that time, rather than the 1 and 4 mohar coins as Mr. Sweeny assumed?”

Nicholas Rhodes found the answer to this question when a presentation case produced by Heaton’s was sold in an auction in December 1993. The case contained 20 tin uniface impressions from dies prepared for Asian countries by Heaton’s. Apart from an impression of the medal with the portrait of Chandra Shamsher the case contained one impression of an obverse die for mohars, bearing the same date as the medal, i.e. VS 1971 (A.D. 1914) and two reverse dies for Mohar coinage of Nepal (Rhodes, N. G. "The Birmingham Mint and Coinage for Nepal," Spink’s Numismatic Circular, London, June 1994, p. 213).
Another specimen of this rare proof medallion was sold by Heritage Auctions, World Coins & Ancient Coins, Dallas, Jan. 13 – 14, 2015, lot 35897. More recently, a base metal version from the Prud'homme collection was sold by Stephen Album, Auction 52, 15 May 2025, lot 1304.

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Estimate

Starting price
£550