THE COINAGE OF TIBET. 21 



The Nag tang "Black tang-ka" (Plates III(A) and III(B), fig. 8; Plates IV(A) 

 and IV(B), fig. 7) is the name given to the last of the Pa-nying tang-kas coined in 842 

 (Newar Sambat) corresponding to 1722 A.D., by Ranjit Malla Deva, the last Newar 

 king of Bhatgaon. There are a large number of these coins still in circulation, and 

 many years of grease have made them black enough to deserve their name. A 

 large number of these coins are also still current in Bhutan. 



There only remains to notice the Chinese tang-kas minted for currency in Tibet. 

 I have only come across three kinds of these. 



The first (Plate III(A) and III(B), fig. 9) bears the inscription in Tibetan cq^'q^' 



<36<^C' " the pure money of Chhan Lung," and round the margin the date in words 



5 cr T§'5^'^' " sixty," i.e., the sixtieth year of the then current Chinese cycle ; and is 

 equivalent to 1795 A.D. The Chinese inscription on the other side is to the same 

 effect. Mr. Kang-yu-wei informed me that this Chinese emperor's name was Sheng- 

 lung. I have also similar coins of this emperor bearing dates 58 and 59, i.e., 1793 and 

 1794 A.D. It is given as Keen-lung in Haydn's Dictionary of Dates. 



The second (Plates III(A) and III(B), fig. 10) bears the inscription in Tibetan =*]*!&;* 

 CJ<y£I3^'Q^<3r " the pure money of Chah Chhen." The date is given in words round the 

 ■ margin ft"4T5*Q" " twenty-five," and is equivalent to 1820 A.D. I have also a similar 

 coin of this emperor bearing the date 9, i.e., 1804 A.D. The name of this emperor as 

 given me by Mr. Kang-yu-wei was Jau Sengs, great grandfather of the present emperor 

 of China. His name does not appear in the Dictionary of Dates. 



The third (Plates III (A) and III(B), fig. 11) bears the inscription in Tibetan «TK$C 

 *6'^& V !P" " the pure money of Dao Kwong," and in the margin the date in words 

 zTj§pi*q' " third," i.e., the third year of that cycle, which is equivalent to 1823 A.D. 

 This emperor's name is given in Haydn's Dictionary of Dates as Taou Kwang. In the 

 two latter, as in the first, the Chinese inscription on the other side corresponds to 

 the Tibetan. 



There is no copper coinage in Tibet, but Nepalese pice are occasionally met with, 

 and Chinese cash (called dong-tse ^C'S), in Lhasa. 



In addition to the coinage, there are certain nominal sums of money which are 

 used in accounts and business transactions. These are :— 



Ka-cha = 5 annas. 



Sho-nga=$ sho-kangs = 3 tang-kas and one karma-nga = Rs. 1-4-0. 



Srang or ng'ti-srang = 2 sho-nga = Rs. 2-8-0. 



Do-tse = 50 srangs = Rs. 125. 



Silver ingots from China are also used as currency. The value of these varies and 



