TIBET: AR kong par tangka, BE13-45 (1791), Cr-60, First Issue under Tibetan and Chinese authority, two circles above lotus, environmental damage, PCGS graded Fine details.

The first series of Kong Par Tangkas bears the dates 13-45 (AD 1791), 13-46 (1792) and 13-47 (1793). While considerable quantities of the first two dates were struck it appears that the coins dated 13-47 were only struck in the beginning of that year after which the production of Kong Par Tangkas was suspended. The reason for this was that the Chinese authorities had decided to strike coins of fine silver with the reign name Qian Long which were to replace both the Nepalese Mohars and the Kong Par type tangkas. The Sino-Tibetan coins in the name of Qian Long, Jia Qing and Dao Guang were struck between 1792 and 1840 with periods of various lengths of disruption. After 1840 the Chinese influence on Tibetan affairs had weakened considerably and the Tibetan government decided to resume the striking of Tangkas in the style of the Kong-Par tangkas to the same weight standard and in silver of the same fineness as the first series of Kong Par tangkas. However, the Tibetan authorities did not inscribe the new series of Kong Par Tangkas with the actual date, but continued to use the old date 13-46, which in numismatics is referred to as a "frozen date". The second series of Kong Par tangkas was struck around 1840 and is characterized by having a pointed "date arch" on obverse. The third series of Kong Par tangkas was struck in about 1850, again with the frozen date 13-46. These issues can be identified by their large petals on reverse and the improved quality of striking. A substantial number of Kong Par Tangkas of the third series has survived and therefore they are the second most common Tibetan silver coins of the 19th Century after the Gaden Tangkas which were first struck in about 1840. A fourth series of Kong Par Tangkas was struck in 1890 and 1891; this time the coins bear a new date which corresponds to the actual year when they were struck, i.e., 15-24 and 15-25. They were struck at a reduced weight standard.

Estimate: 150-250 USD