Item number: A171

Year: AD 1793

Material: Silver

Size: 19.0 x 19.0 x 0.5 mm

Weight: 1.5 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This “Qianlong Treasure Coin” silver coin, with a face value of ½ sho, was minted in the 58th year of the Qianlong reign (AD 1793) by the “BaoZang Bureau” in Lhasa. On the obverse side of the coin, the inner circle imitates the square hole coins of the Han region but with solid square holes. Surrounding this, in clockwise order from top to bottom and left to right, are the four characters “Qianlong Treasure Coin” in Chinese, accompanied by four auspicious cloud motifs. Encircling this inner design is a ring of twenty-four round pearls, with the year “fifty-eight” engraved in clockwise order.

On the reverse side of the coin, the inner circle similarly imitates the square hole of a Chinese coin, with inscriptions arranged clockwise from top to bottom, right, and left. These inscriptions are the Tibetan transliteration of the Chinese phrase “Qianlong Treasure Coin” (Tibetan: Chan Lung Pau Gtsang). Surrounding this, there is also a bead-like border consisting of twenty-four beads, along with the Tibetan numerals “58” (Tibetan: Inga Bchu Rtsa Brgyad) representing the ruling year.

Since the fifth century, Tibet has maintained close commercial trade with the kingdoms of the Kathmandu Valley in the southern foothills of the Himalayas. Starting from the seventeenth century, Tibet annually provided a large amount of silver to Nepal, which was then used by the latter to mint silver coins. With the unification of the Kathmandu Valley’s three kingdoms under the rule of King Prithvi Narayan Shah in AD 1767, negotiations between the Khalsa dynasty and Tibet over the purity of minted silver coins broke down, leading to increased trade and border conflicts between the two nations.

In AD 1788 and AD 1791, Nepal–Tibet Wars erupted, during which the Khalsa forces briefly occupied thefief of the Panchen Lama, the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery. Sensing the escalating situation, Emperor Qianlong dispatched his nephew, Prince Jiayong of the Second Rank, Fukan’an, to lead Qing forces into Tibet. In AD 1792, facing the advance of Fukan’an’s troops towards the Nepalese capital Kathmandu, the Khalsa dynasty surrendered and became a vassal state of the Qing Empire. Concurrently, Emperor Qianlong exploited the war to enhance the authority and military presence of the Imperial Commissioner-Resident of Tibet, strengthening Qing control and influence over Tibet.

Against this backdrop, Fukan’an, together with the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, negotiated the “29-Article Ordinance for the More Effective Governing of Tibet” and subsequently established the “BaoZang Bureau” in Lhasa in AD 1792. The following year, they commenced the minting of standardized silver coins known as the “Qianlong Treasure Coin” in denominations of 1 ½ sho, 1 sho, and ½ sho. During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, these coins were minted in the years 58, 59, 60, and 61. The minting process adopted the manual “engraved plate pressing” technique prevalent in the Inner Eurasia region, resulting in each coin possessing unique characteristics in its patterns and inscriptions.

物件編號: A171

年代: 公元 1793 年

材料: 銀

尺寸: 19.0 x 19.0 x 0.5 mm

重量: 1.5 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

此枚銀幣為乾隆58年(公元1793年)，由拉薩「寶藏局」鑄造的面額½錢「乾隆寶藏」。硬幣正面， 內圈仿擬漢地的方孔圓錢，不過是實心的方孔。周圍按上下左右，依序是漢文「乾隆寶藏」四字，並且有四朵祥雲綴飾。外圍是二十四粒圓珠組成的珠圈，和按順時針排列「五十八年」紀年。

硬幣背面，內圈同樣仿擬漢地的方孔圓錢，周圍按上下右左，依序是用藏文拼寫漢語的「乾隆寶藏」(藏語:Chan Lung Pau Gtsang )四字。外圈同樣有二十四粒圓珠構成的珠圈，以及按順時針排列，四個藏文組成的「五十八」(藏語: Inga Bchu Rtsa Brgyad)紀年。

自公元五世紀起，西藏跟地處喜馬拉雅山南麓的尼泊爾谷地諸王國有密切商貿往來。公元十七世紀起，西藏每年提供大量的白銀給尼泊爾，委由後者鑄造銀幣。隨著公元1767年，強人普利特維·納拉揚·沙阿國王領導下，廓爾喀王朝統一尼泊爾谷地的三個王國。廓爾喀王朝跟西藏就鑄幣銀純度的談判破局，致使兩國貿易和邊界衝突激增。公元1788和1791年，先後發生兩次廓爾喀戰爭，廓爾喀還一度攻下班禪的駐錫地扎什倫布寺。乾隆皇帝有鑑於此，派遣姪子「嘉勇郡王」福康安率軍入藏。公元1792年，面對福康安領導的清軍逼近首都加德滿都，廓爾喀王朝降服和成為清帝國藩屬。另一方面，乾隆皇帝也藉此戰爭，增加駐藏大臣權力和駐軍，強化清帝國對於西藏的控制和影響力。

上述背景下，福康安會同達賴和班禪議定《欽定藏內善後章程二十九條》，旋即在拉薩成立「寶藏局」(公元1792年)。隔年開始鑄造：一錢半、一錢和半錢，三種面額的「乾隆寶藏」制式銀幣。乾隆統治年間，先後在58年、59年、60年和61年四次鑄造。鑄造工藝承襲流行於內亞地區的手工「雕版壓模」，為此每枚硬幣在紋飾和文字上，有其自身獨一無二的特徵。