Item number: A369

Year: AD 1899

Material: Silver

Size: 26.7 x 26.3 x 1.0 mm

Weight: 4.5 g

Provenance: Noonans 2022

In AD 1899, the deposed Tibetan regent, the 9th Demo Rinpoche, was implicated in the “Cursed Shoe Incident,” which involved an attempt to use a cursed shoe to harm the 13th Dalai Lama. Following this incident and the regent’s subsequent assassination, the 13th Dalai Lama used the opportunity to consolidate his power in Tibet. During this period, the “Ga-den Tangka” silver coin was minted.

The obverse of the coin is encircled by a bead ring and a circular ring. At the centre is a lotus-shaped eight-spoked Vajra wheel, surrounded by eight oval petals. Each petal contains a Tibetan character forming the inscription “དགའ་ལྡན་ཕོ་བྲང་ ཕྱོ་ ལས་རྣམ་ རྣམ་རྒྱལ།” (dga’ ldan pho brang phyo(gs) las rnam rgyal), which translates to “The Ganden palace, victorious in all directions.” The “Ganden palace” refers to the traditional residence of the Dalai Lamas at Drepung Monastery in Lhasa before assuming full political power, symbolising the authority of the Dalai Lama.

The reverse of the coin is similarly adorned with a bead ring and a circular ring. At the centre is a lotus flower emerging from waves, surrounded by eight petals, each decorated with one of the Buddhist “Eight Auspicious Symbols.” The appearance of the eight-spoked wheel, the eight-petalled lotus, and the Eight Auspicious Symbols on this coin symbolises the “Three Realms” of heaven, earth, and humanity in Tibetan Buddhism, showcasing the rich cultural and religious heritage of Tibet.

In the 17th century, Tibet initially commissioned its neighbouring country, Nepal, to mint silver coins. However, after Tibet’s victory over Nepal in AD 1791 with the intervention of the Qing Empire, the Qing Dynasty, as the suzerain, began minting silver coins bearing the emperor’s title in Tibet. Nevertheless, from the Daoguang period onwards, as the Qing Empire faced challenges from Western powers led by Britain, its influence in Tibet waned. Thus, from the mid-19th century, the Tibetan Gaden Phodrang government, centred around the 13th Dalai Lama, began independently minting Gaden Tangka silver coins, reflecting Tibet’s growing autonomy within the Qing Empire.

物件編號: A369

年代: 公元 1899 年

材料: 銀

尺寸: 26.7 x 26.3 x 1.0 mm

重量: 4.5 g

來源: 諾南斯 2022

公元1899年，卸任的西藏攝政第九世德木活佛捲入「妖鞋事件」，即意圖下咒謀害達賴十三世遭到殺害後，達賴十三世藉此鞏固在西藏的地位，所鑄造之「噶單章嘎」銀幣。

錢幣正面的外圍，分別為一道珠圈和圓圈環繞。正中央是蓮花造型八輻金鋼輪，外圍是八個橢圓形的花瓣，分別在裡面寫有八個藏文「དགའ་ལྡན་ཕོ་བྲང་ ཕྱོ་ ལས་རྣམ་ རྣམ་རྒྱལ།」(dga’ ldan pho brang phyo(gs) las rnam rgyal)，意思是「噶單頗章諸方全勝」。「噶單頗章」是歷代達賴親政前於拉薩哲蚌寺的居所，亦是代表達賴擁有的權力。

錢幣背面的外圍，同樣以珠圈和圓圈為飾。正中央是一朵從水波探出頭的蓮花圖飾，周圍的八個花瓣則依序以佛家「八吉祥圖」作為裝飾。這枚錢幣出現的八輻輪、八辦蓮花和八吉祥，在藏傳佛教分別寓意「天、地、人」三界，充分展現西藏濃厚的文化和宗教色彩。

公元17世紀，西藏起先委由鄰國尼泊爾鑄造銀幣，後續於公元1791年，西藏在清帝國介入下戰勝尼泊爾後，自乾隆年間作為宗主國的清帝國，開始在西藏當地鑄造帶有皇帝頭銜的銀幣。不過道光年間以降，隨著清帝國受到英國為首的西方列強挑戰，清政府在西藏當地的影響力日益下滑。故公元19世紀中葉起，以達賴十三世為中心的西藏噶厦政府自行鑄造章嘎銀幣，展現西藏在清帝國內部逐漸增高的自主地位。