The Tibet Rare 100 Srang Banknote is a highly valued collectible, reflecting Tibet's cultural and historical significance. Issued in the 1940s by the Tibetan government before the Chinese occupation in 1959, it was part of Tibet’s unique currency system. The banknote is crafted from thick, handmade Tibetan paper, giving it a distinct and authentic feel. Its design features intricate red and orange patterns, Tibetan script, floral motifs, and handwritten serial numbers, while the reverse side is typically blank. Measuring approximately 16.5 x 9.5 cm, each note carries a unique charm due to the manual production process.
The rarity of the 100 Srang banknote stems from its limited issuance and the destruction or loss of many notes during the Chinese takeover. This makes it highly prized by collectors, with values ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars depending on its condition and authenticity. Notes in pristine or graded condition command the highest premiums.
Obverse
Human-like male and female lions holding a plate with fruits, Dalai Lama's small red circular seal and Cha-Hsi Le-K'ung Mint black rectangular seal
Script: Tibetan
Lettering:
༅།གནམ་བསྐོས་དགའ་ལྡན་ཕོ་བྲང་ཕྱོགས་ལས་རྣམ་རྒྱལ།
༡༠༠ སྲང་ \n\n༅།ཆོས་སྲིད་གཉིས་ལྡན་གྱི་ཤོག་དངུལ་སྲང་བརྒྱ་ཐམ་པ།
Translation: The Tibetan government, by heaven appointed, is victorious in all directions, 100 Srang, The government is both spiritual and secular, the paper money's value is One Hundred Srang
Reverse
Two holy men seated under a lime tree (Tilia, Linden, Basswood), Two cranes, symbolizing longevity, Two deers, symbolising prosperity, lie on the ground in front of the lames, The old holy man, with mountains in the background, is holding magic bottle, which symbolises fertilizing the Earth, and Two flying bats, symbolizing felicity and fortune.
