25 Srang

Tibet's paper currency was printed at the Norbulingka palace workshop in Lhasa using hand-operated wooden blocks — a technique utterly unlike the steel-engraved intaglio printing used by contemporary European and Asian central banks. The ink, paper, and block quality varied enough between print runs that no two notes from this series look quite identical, which creates real attribution challenges for specialists trying to distinguish genuine variation from damage or repair.

The sole security feature was an official seal applied in red ink. For a government that had historically resisted paper money on religious and cultural grounds, even that modest concession took considerable time.