A fine 1910 10 tam pattern coin has seen the highest bids in Spink's auction of Tibetan Coins from the Nicholas Rhodes Collection, held on August 21 in Hong Kong.
 The 10 tam coin is decorated with eight auspicious symbols |
The coin made $26,325. An extremely rare piece, it is graded SP63 by PCGS.
The coin dates to around 1910, a time when the Tibetan government started producing a large range of copper and silver coins of different denominations. An anonymous design, it is undated, with a legend that reads in Tibetan: "The Gaden Palace, victorious in all directions".
The legend is surrounded with eight auspicious symbols within a lotus-petal design.
Also selling was an extremely rare 20 srang coin, which made $23,035 as the second most valuable lot of the sale.
The 20 srang gold coins were produced between 1918 and 1921 in the Serkhang mint, which was located near Norbulingka, the summer residence of the Dalai Lamas. These pieces were not produced in high numbers and rarely circulated - they were mainly used for storing wealth.
Many were exported to India where they could be sold for a decent profit.
The third highest bids of the sale were seen by a 1902/1903 "Lukuan" rupee produced in China for Tibet, which made $21,389.
At the end of the 19th century, foreign coins were circulated in Tibet as they could be traded by weight. During this time, the British Indian rupees became popular as they were made from good silver and had a fixed value.
As a result, the Chinese authorities started to produce close copies of the Indian rupees, replacing the portrait of Queen Victoria with their own designs.
Paul Fraser Collectibles has a superb selection of rare coins for sale.
