15 Tam

Tibet's earliest indigenous paper currency series, of which this is part, was produced entirely within Tibet using locally made paper — a deliberate departure from Chinese monetary influence following the 13th Dalai Lama's reassertion of Tibetan autonomy after the 1913 declaration of independence from the Qing. The notes were hand-printed from woodblocks, a technique already centuries old in the region, and the paper itself was traditional Tibetan lokta stock, which behaves quite differently under handling than European or Asian machine-made sheets.

Woodblock printing means no two impressions are identical. Registration inconsistencies and ink density variation are intrinsic to the process, not signs of forgery or damage.