TIBET:LOT of 34 silver dkarpo sa rpa tangkas, Second Monk issue struck 1953-54, Y-31 type, average circulated quality, retail value $1900, lot of 34 coins. Formerly it was assumed that these tangkas were distributed to monks on behalf of the 14th Dalai Lama in the late 1940s. The Tibetans referred to this Tangka as Tangka dkarpo sa rpa ("new white tangka") in order to distinguish it from the normal gaden tangkas. This coin circulated for some time at the value of 5 srang which shows the high inflation rate which was prevailing in Tibet in the 20th Century. In the 19th Century 6½ tangkas were equivalent to 1 srang which corresponded to slightly more than 37 grams of silver. Taking the circulating value of this "Monk " tangka as a base, 1 srang was equal to about 33½ tangkas in 1953-54.
