1 Tangka Presentation Tangka, silver

The Tibetan government struck presentation tangkas in 1910 as diplomatic gifts rather than circulating currency — a practice rooted in the tradition of offering auspicious coins during official exchanges. That same year, the Qing dynasty launched its final military incursion into Tibet, forcing the 13th Dalai Lama to flee to British India in February. Whether any of these pieces changed hands during the diplomatic scramble that followed his departure is unrecorded, but the timing gives surviving examples an unusually charged historical position.

The flan preparation on presentation strikes differs noticeably from regular tangkas — polished blanks, more deliberate striking pressure.