THE HALPERT COLLECTION OF TIBETAN AND NEPALESE CURRENCY
INTRODUCTION
The collection of Tibetan and Nepalese coins offered in this sale was started by Phil Rudko in about 1960. Over a period of twenty years, Phil built up a fine collection, not only of coins struck in Tibet, but also of the Nepalese coins of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries which circulated in Tibet before the Tibetans struck coins of their own. In 1980 it was becoming difficult for Phil to find new pieces, and he decided to offer his collection to Wesley and Carolyn Halpert, noted collectors of Tibetan art. The original coins from the Rudko collection can be recognised, as they are still preserved in their original cardboard mounts. Over the last twenty years, the Halperts have managed to increase the collection considerably, adding many new rarities and varieties, and have extended its scope to banknotes and to related coins from China. It is now among the finest collections of Tibetan coins ever assembled, and certainly the best ever offered at public auction, including many pieces that have never before appeared on the market. The collection now offered provides a unique opportunity for anyone interested in this attractive and increasingly popular series to fill gaps, or to acquire a foundation for a collection of the future.
Particularly notable coins include the remarkable triangular suki of Yoga Narendra Malla of Patan, the exceptionally fine Yr.57 tangka of Ch'ien Lung from the Kann collection, and the four Sino-Tibetan coins of Yrs.3 to 6 of Chia Ch'ing. Among the more recent Tibetan coins, the rare 10 Tam, and 5 Sho patterns of 1928/9 stand out as extremely rare and beautiful examples of the Tibetan die engravers art. The three original dies are also unique offerings. The series of Tibetan banknotes is particularly fine, with two examples of each of the very rare higher denominations of the first issue of 1912/3, and several bundles of uncirculated notes, still tied with the original string. The gold strikings of the Szechuan rupees and fractions are remarkable, some of them having come from the King Farouk collection, and the Halperts have managed to bring together, for the first time, a complete collection of all the known varieties of these almost unique pieces. Apart from these rarities, however, there are many examples of the more common coins. Since each die was handmade in the mint, the products of each can be differentiated, and the large lots offered here represent a painstaking accumulation of die varieties that would reward the serious collector. Also included are a number of errors, not only in the striking process, but also in the engraving of the dies.
I expect that the catalogue of this landmark sale will be a reference work for many years to come.
Nicholas Rhodes
August 2000
References:
Rhodes, Gabrisch & Valdettaro, The Coinage of Nepal, Royal Numismatic Society, London, 1989 (RGV)
Kann, E. Illustrated Catalog of Chinese Coins, Los Angeles, 1954. (Kann)
Krause & Mishler, Standard Catalog of World Coins.
Bruce, Colin R., Unusual World Coins, 3rd edition. (XM)
Bertsch, Wolfgang. A study of Tibetan Paper Money, Dharamsala, 1997.
NEPAL
Lichhavi Dynasty (6-7th century), Mananka (RGV.7-12), Amshuvarman (RGV.21), Pashupati (RGV.96.1). Mediaeval Period (c1100), AV Sivaka (RGV.168), very fine, AR Dam (RGV.170), Copper Paisa "Sri Deva-yadasya" (RGV.172) fair, but very rare, others fine (6)
细节
Lichhavi Dynasty (6-7th century), Mananka (RGV.7-12), Amshuvarman (RGV.21), Pashupati (RGV.96.1). Mediaeval Period (c1100), AV Sivaka (RGV.168), very fine, AR Dam (RGV.170), Copper Paisa "Sri Deva-yadasya" (RGV.172) fair, but very rare, others fine (6)