Tip Arsenal Mint, Lhasa, Tibet, China
| Nombre de la casa de moneda | Tip Arsenal Mint |
|---|---|
| Localización | Lhasa, Tibet (ལྷ་ས), China |
| Años en funcionamiento | 1896-1897 |
(en) In about 1895, an arsenal was built at Tip, about 2 miles southeast of Lhasa, on the south bank of the river Kyi-Chu. At about this date the design of the Gaden-tangkas was significantly changed, and it seems probable that the change in design coincided with the opening of a new mint. The mint would not have been first priority in constructing the new arsenal, so coins were probably first struck there in about 1896. About 1900, a machine was installed, and a few tangkas were machine struck with a collar. These machine-struck pieces are rare, and the machine cannot have been used for long. The Tip Arsenal was visited by L. A. Waddell in 1904, but at this time the mint had none of its appliances visible and was temporarily closed during the British invasion. The arsenal itself remained operational until it was closed down by the Chinese in April 1910. Kempf did not mention Tip as a mint, but the evidence of the two authors above together with verbal confirmation from H. Richardson, who was resident in Lhasa from 1935 until 1950, gives conclusive proof that the arsenal was used as a mint.
It seems likely that Gaden-Tangkas of Types C, D, and S were struck at Tip. If type C was struck in 1896, and if changes in design took place at yearly intervals thereafter, Type E would have finished in I905 or I906. This date fits in well with Kempf's date of 1907 for the opening of Dode mint, as the Tip mint probably ceased striking coins as soon as the Dode mint opened, and the change in type of the Gaden-Tangkas to Type F probably coincided with the change in mint.
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Sources:
• Fred Kempf; 1969. “A Primary Report on Native Tibetan Coins”. Seattle, Washington, United States.
• Nicholas G. Rhodes; 1978. "Tibetan Mints". Oriental Numismatic Society Information Sheet, number 19, Prestwood, United Kingdom.
