5 Sho Two suns, three mountains

The Ganden Phodrang — the theocratic government seated at the Potala — operated its own mint at Dode, outside Lhasa, producing copper coinage with minimal outside influence until the Chinese People's Liberation Army entered Tibet in 1950. This 5 Sho issue falls precisely across that threshold. Production almost certainly halted not from monetary planning but from military interruption.

The Y#28.1 and Y#28.2 varieties are distinguished primarily by die differences in the mountain rendering and sun placement — minor enough to escape casual notice but consistent enough to be catalogued separately. Both varieties circulated together without distinction.