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1 Tangka 'Ga-den Tangka'
| Issuer | Tibetan Government (Ganden Phodrang) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1840-1930 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 27 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Tibetan |
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| Reverse description | An ornate stylised lotus blossom at centre, surrounded by the eight Buddhist auspicious symbols (Ashtamangala) — a white parasol, a conch shell, a treasure vase, a victory banner, a dharma wheel, a pair of golden fish, an endless knot, and a lotus flower — each positioned between the petals of an enclosing eight-petalled lotus border that mirrors the obverse composition. The auspicious symbols are rendered in low relief with hand-engraved detail, and their precise arrangement and stylistic treatment vary across the multiple die types documented throughout the coin's production history. The field between the central lotus and the surrounding symbols is plain. |
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| Additional information |
The Ga-den Tangka was struck over roughly nine decades with deliberate conservatism — the Ganden Phodrang government made no attempt to date individual issues, which makes precise attribution within the series nearly impossible without die study. Production was handled by hand-hammering techniques long after machine minting had become standard elsewhere in Asia, a conscious choice that kept the coins irregular in shape and thickness throughout the entire run.
Tibet's monetary isolation was partly strategic. The 1793 Sino-Tibetan agreement following the Gurkha invasions gave the Qing a role in Tibetan coinage, but the Ganden Phodrang steadily reasserted autonomous minting through issues like this one.