Historical Money of Tibet - The Dates On Tibetan Coins

The Dates On Tibetan Coins

Except for the Sino-Tibetan coins, the early undated tangkas of the 18th century, and the undated Ganden tangka issues, all Tibetan coins are inscribed with the cycle and the year in which they were struck. Each cycle comprises 60 years. The first year of the first cycle corresponds to the western year AD 1027.

According to Tibetan tradition, the Kalachakra (dus kyi ‘khor lo) was introduced into Tibet from India in the year 1026. Therefore the dates found on Tibetan coins record the number of years which have elapsed since this historical event. In order to convert a cycle date of a Tibetan coin into a western date one can use the following formula: (Number of cycles minus 1) times 60, plus number of years, plus 1026.

Example: rab byung 15 lo 43 means that 14 complete cycles plus 43 years of the 15th cycle have elapsed since the year 1026. This date can be converted as follows: (15 – 1) × 60 + 43 + 1026 = AD 1909.

It is necessary to know that the Tibetan year usually starts some time in what is the month of February according to the calendar of the Western World. Therefore the coin of the above example cannot have been struck as early as January 1909, but may have been struck as late as January or early February 1910.