TIBET: pattern 5 sho, ND (1929-30), KM-PnA12, YZM-497, Autonomous Tibetan issue, crouching snow lion, facing left, looking diagonally upwards right with sun and three ornaments above and small mountain below, within a circular border to which eight lotus petals are attached, each containing one of the eight Buddhist auspicious emblems, with circle and beaded border around // Tibetan legend zho lnga ( "five sho ") at center of an ornamental cartouche, with the standard legend which refers to the Tibetan Government: dga' ldan pho brang phyogs las rnam rayal around, the legend's syllables separated by the usual beads (Tibetan tsheg = "syllable marker "), this surrounded by a circle composed of cloud-shaped elements connected by arches, between each pair of which there is a bead, all within a beaded circular border, PCGS graded Specimen 65. In older editions of the Krause Standard Catalog of World Coins, this coin was listed as a regular issue (as Y-32), but it is now believed that it is a pattern coin struck between 1928 and 1930 in the Dode mint with the imported coining presses from the British firm Taylor & Challen. This is an absolutely fantastic example of this rare Tibetan pattern silver type. This is the finest graded by either NGC or PCGS!

Estimate: USD 8000-10000