Tibet (1910) 2 sho
This specimen was lot 1234 in Stephen Album sale 39 (Santa Rosa, CA, January 2021), where it sold for $1,320. The catalog description[1] noted, "TIBET: Hsuan Tung, 1909-1911, AR 2 sho, ND (1910), lotus design at center, with Chinese inscription xuan tong bao zang (Tibetan money of the Xuan Tong era) // dragon at center, surrounded by a string of pearls and Tibetan inscription: shon thong bod kyi rin khor khu phon zho do (Xuan Tong, precious coin of two sho, [struck] to the kuping standard), PCGS graded VF25, ex Don Erickson Collection. The Tibetan legend "rin khor"" is most probably a phonetic spelling of "rin sgor", which means "precious coin." The Kuping (transcribed as khu phon in Tibetan) "treasury standard" or "treasury scale" refers to the Kuping silver tael, the standard weight of which was fixed at 37.3121g in the late Qing Dynasty for payment of government taxes." Tibetan currency was a mixture of Chinese, Nepalese and Indian units complicated by frequent debasements. One srang = 6-2/3 tangka = 10 sho. This type was struck one year only just before the collapse of the empire. This example sold for five times the catalog value.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 5.2-8.4 g, silver, 25 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: Y-6, L&M-652.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Lin Gwo Ming, Illustrated Catalogue of Chinese Gold & Silver Coins: Ching and Republican Issues, Seventh Edition, Hong Kong: Ma Tak Wo Numismatic Co., Ltd., 2012.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 39, featuring the John Sylvester, Jr., Collection of Annamese Medals and Orders, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2020.
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