Tibet first issued its own mass-minted coins in 1792, in a joint partnership with Chinese authorities. These silver coins gave way in 1840 to coins exclusively featuring Tibetan inscriptions, which became standard for over 100 years.
Dating Tibetan coins, by the way, can be a rewarding skill unto itself, as can mastering Tibetan units of currency: based mostly on two different systems, there are numerous subdivisions and seemingly endless possibilities for focusing ones Tibetan coin collection.
Srang
Tibet imported the srang from China; this currency was called liang in Chinese. Several sub-currencies were used as well.
Tangka
Tangka was a unit of currency imported from Nepal. 1 srang = 6.66 tangkas. As with srang, tangkas included several subdivisions. Both tangka and srang were used in Tibet until 1959.
See also: India rare coins for collectors and other buyers
Yuan
In 1959, Tibetan coinage was stopped and Chinese yuan (元) have been used in Tibet ever since. Some commemorative and special coins featuring Tibetan subjects have been minted since and may be of interest to Tibetan coin collectors.
