TIBET:LOT of 20 Nepal silver mohars cut down to ½ sho, 3/4 sho and 1 sho denominations for circulation in Tibet, good mixture of types, average circulated quality, retail value $500, lot of 20 coins. While the Nepalese mohars were circulating in Tibet, they were frequently cut for use as small change, as none of the smaller denomination Nepalese coins were used by the Tibetans. The two Nepalese mohar types which are mostly encountered as cut fragments are the mohar of Jaya Prakash Malla dated NS 856/1736 AD and the mohar of Pratap Simha dated SE 1697-1699/1775-1777 AD. The denomination of the Nepalese mohar was valued at 1½ Tibetan sho. The natural subdivisions were 2/3 (=1 sho), ½ (=3/4 sho), and 1/3 (=½ sho). Very conveniently, it was noticed that a straight line cut leaving 5 petals visible on the reverse produced a piece weighing almost exactly 2/3rd of the full coin. Similarly, if 4 petals were visible the coin was clearly cut in half, and if 3 petals were visible, then the coin was worth 1/3rd of the full coin. The denomination could be calculated just by counting the petals.
