14 E. H. C. WALSH ON 



The tang-has are hand-struck. I obtained a machine-struck Gaden tang-ka from 

 Tibet in 1902. The die is similar, but the appearance is different from the hand-struck 

 coins, the compression of the metal being much greater. This coin was said by the 

 person, who brought it for me from Lhasa, to have been struck at the arsenal there by 

 a machine. But the minting by machine cannot have lasted long ; as coins were not 

 being so minted when the mission went to Lhasa, and I have not seen any other 

 machine-struck coin than this one. 



The Ga-den Pho-dang tang-ka (Plates III(A) and III(B), figs. 1 and 2) is so called 

 from the inscription on it. Ga-den Pho-dang chhog-le nam-gyal, [ "The Ga-den Palace 

 victorious on all sides." This coin is minted at Lhasa, and the Ga-den Pho-dang is a 

 name for the Tibetan Government Headquarters there, and means " The Tibetan 

 Government. ' ' 



On the reverse (Plate III(B), figs. 1 and 2) are the Ta-shi ta-gye' 2 or the eight 

 lucky signs of the Buddhist religion. The signs are not always given in the same 

 order ; the order is, in fact, different in the two coins figured. Taking the order in 

 which they occur in fig. 2, Plate III(B), and commencing with the top one and 

 going round with the clock they are as following : — 



(1) The umbrella of sovereignty; (2) The two golden fishes of good luck; (3) 

 The pot of ambrosia ; (4) The lotus ; (5) The conch shell ; (6) The symbol 

 of endless rebirths ; (7) The banner of victory ; (8) The wheel of empire. 



There is a floral design in the centre of the reverse. None of these coins bear 

 any date or any other mark, by which their date can be ascertained. The coin 

 shewn in fig. 1 is an old coin, whereas fig. 2 is a perfectly new coin. 



These coins were probably first minted about 1750 A.D., when, owing to the dis- 

 pute between Prithi Narain, the first Gorkha ruler of Nepal, and the Tibetan Govern- 

 ment regarding the exchange value of the previous debased Nepal coinage of the 

 Newar kings then in circulation in Tibet, the Nepal Government stopped the coining 

 of silver for Tibet. But this is merely conjecture ; as I was not able to find any 

 Tibetan who could give any information on the point. 



This coin has remained unaltered, since it was first introduced, with the exception 

 of such minor variations as have occurred in the making of fresh dies. 



The Ga-den tang-ka is not subdivided. If it ever is cut it is called Pongo mig- 

 pa" or c< donkey's hoof." I have never seen one of these coins cut. The " donkey 

 hoof " cutting is, no doubt, the form of cutting figured by Mr. Rockhill of the 

 example in the collection of the United States National Museum and in " The Land 

 of the Lamas ' ' already referred to. 



There is no doubt that the design of the Ga-den tang-ka was taken from the 

 Newar coinage of the time it was struck, and I give an example of the coin it would 



■2 qn]'^'fi«T|5rqft^' Sanskrit Ashta Mangala. 3 Hfc"^'!^*! | 



