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1/2 Rupee / Deb Period I
| Issuer | Kingdom of Bhutan |
|---|---|
| Year | 1835-1910 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Irregular hammered copper flan bearing a geometric design divided by a bold cross-hatched grid into compartments. Within the central and flanking fields appear stylized symbols including a swastika motif, a crescent, a pellet, and an X-shaped device, rendered in the angular, abstract manner characteristic of Bhutanese hammered coinage of the Deb period. The design occupies the full field with no legend or exergue. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Irregular hammered copper flan displaying a geometric compartmentalized design formed by a bold intersecting grid. Within the resulting cells appear stylized symbols including a prominent teardrop or leaf-shaped device, a small square with a central pellet, and angular decorative elements in the corners, all characteristic of the crude but distinctive iconographic vocabulary of Bhutanese Deb-period copper coinage. The field is entirely occupied by the design with no surrounding legend. |
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| Additional information |
Bhutan's copper coinage of this period was struck by hand using rudimentary local dies, with no centralized mint facility — production occurred intermittently across different locations, which accounts for the dramatic variation in fabric, centering, and die alignment that distinguishes KM#4.1 from KM#4.2. The "Deb" in the type name refers to the Druk Desi, Bhutan's administrative ruler operating beneath the theocratic authority of the Je Khenpo. Neither position held exclusive control over coinage policy.
The seventy-five-year span assigned to this type reflects genuine uncertainty rather than continuous production.