5 Sho Gold Restrike

Tibet's gold coinage was never a functioning monetary instrument in the Western sense — the 5 Sho existed largely as a prestige and ceremonial piece within the Lhasa government's fiscal apparatus. The 1947 restrikes were produced under the authority of the Tibetan Kashag as the political situation with the newly independent India and the weakening Nationalist Chinese government left Lhasa briefly, and uneasily, in control of its own affairs. That window closed permanently in 1950.

The .500 fineness is notably low for a "gold" denomination and reflects the practical constraints of the Lhasa mint, which never achieved consistent metallurgical control.