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5 Srang
| Issuer | Government of Tibet |
|---|---|
| Year | 1942-1947 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | གངས་ལྗོངས་དཔལ་འབར་གྱི་སྲས་མོ། |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed entirely in red ink with a dense, all-over woodblock-printed design. A central vignette displays the Tibetan royal emblem — a ceremonial vase surmounted by an umbrella and flanked by lotus scrollwork — set within a circular medallion, all surrounded by elaborate interlocking dragon and cloud scroll patterns that fill the entire field to the border. |
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| Comments |
Tibet's currency office in Lhasa produced these notes on hand-made lokta paper, a traditional Himalayan bark paper that gives surviving examples a distinctly fibrous, uneven texture quite unlike anything from European or American security printers. The printing was done with carved woodblocks, a technique that produces characteristic ink variation and slight registration inconsistencies across the run — not errors, but artifacts of the method.
The 5 Srang was introduced as Chinese Nationalist pressure on Tibetan administrative autonomy intensified, and the government's insistence on maintaining its own currency was a deliberate act of institutional self-assertion. Tibet had no central bank in any formal sense; monetary functions were administered through the Tsikhang, the finance office of the Ganden Phodrang government.
Lokta paper absorbs moisture readily, which is why Tibetan notes from this period frequently show tide lines and foxing even in otherwise unhandled condition.