Previous Lot Next Lot

Auction: CSS32 - The Numismatic Collectors' Series incl. The Nicholas Rhodes Collection of Tibetan Coins, Tibetan and Nepalese Banknotes
Lot: 82

Tibet, Anonymous (rab lo 925 and AD 1951), AE 50-Dngul Srang pattern, 17.27g, (YZM 531 (this coin) ; KM Pn 15), PCGS SP45 and extremely rare

This is the only Tibetan coin dated to both Tibetan Era (rab lo) the first year of which is AD 1027 and the Christian era. The figure 925 represents the number of years which have passed since the presumed introduction of this era into Tibet in AD 1026. Heavily alloyed silver was probably the intended metal, had this coin been issued for general circulation. It was the intention of the Tibetan government to buy up Yuan Shikai dollars which widely circulated in Tibet after 1950 and melt them down and issue 25 srang and 50 srang coins from the silver after heavily alloying it. But fearing opposition from the Chinese authority these plans were not realised (Rhodes, Nicholas G.: “Two Tibetan Pattern Coins”. Oriental Numismatic Society Newsletter, no. 105, March-April 1987; Bertsch, Wolfgang: "The 20th Century Pattern Coinage of Tibet". Numismatics International Bulletin, vol. 32, no. 1, Dallas, January 1997, pp. 7-18).

This 50-rang pattern coin, struck in copper, is the only specimen known to exist in a private collection. Only one other example of this copper striking exists in a public collection (formerly collection of the People´s Bank of China) in Beijing and is illustrated in the following two publications:

Zhu Jinzhong (chief editor), Wang Haiyan, Wang Jiafeng, Zhang Wuyi, Wu Hanlin, Wang Dui [dbang ´dus] and Tsering Pincuo: Zhong guo xi zang qian bi [The Money of Chinese Tibet] Xi zang zi zhi ou qian bi xue hui [Tibet Autonomous Region Numismatic Society], Zhong hua shu ju, Beijing 2002, ISBN7 - 101 03360 - 1/Z . 449, p. 138, no. 1-340.

Zhong guo jin rong xue hui (Society of Chinese Finance); Zhong guo qian bi bo wu guan (China Numismatic Museum); Xin hua tong xun she she ying bu (Xin Hua News Agency Photo-Department) (Editing supervisor: Xu zu gen): Zhong guo jin rong zhen gui wen wu dang guan da dian. Xi zang juan (China Finance precious cultural Relics Archive and Catalogue. Tibet Book). Zhong yang wen xian chu ban she (Central Document Publishing House), Beijing, 2002, ISBN 7-5073-1170-8/F.18, p. 64.


The 50-Srang copper coin illustrated in YZM as no. 531 is the Rhodes coin; Ying Zheng Min has copied his illustration (without giving credit) from the following publication: Gabrisch, Karl: Geld aus Tibet. Sammlung Dr. Karl Gabrisch, Winterthur and Rikon, 1990, plate 39, no. 149.


Provenance: Acquired by Nicholas Rhodes in Patan (Nepal) in the late 1960s. Brought from Lhasa to Nepal by a Newari family from Patan which had business relations with Tibet.



西藏50桑樣幣, 約17.21克, PCGS SP45, 罕見!

Sold for
HK$440,000