Hans Sanders (NL)
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Nepales Coins for circulation in Tibet.

History.
While standard weights and measures were introduced into Tibet from India in the ninth century, it was not until the seventeenth century that coined money became the accepted medium of exchange. These coins, called thangkas, were in the beginning minted in Nepal for use in Tibet. While these thangkas  formed the currency of Tibet, they were not in fact Tibetan coins. 

Patan minted thangkas for use in Tibet in the years 1631-1771, Bhatgaon in the years 1663-1722 and Kathmandu in the years 1641-1776. The above mentioned coins are dated according to the Newar Era of Nepal and bear dates ranging from 751 N.E. (1631 AD) to 896 N.E. (1776 AD).

In addition to the coins of Nepal, also the silver coins of China and India received wide acceptance in Tibet. The silver rupee of India for example,  an exact multiple of the thangka, circulated throughout the southern parts of Tibet, passing forwards and backwards in trade between India and Tibet. 

It was in 1773, after Prithvi Narayan laid siege to the Kathmandu valley, and cut all trade between Nepal and Tibet, that the Tibetan authorities began to strike their own coins. 

Some examples of Nepalese coins stuck for Tibet. 

      
      
Kingdom of Bhatgaon
KM 108 ; Nan Tang or Black Thangka.
Year NS842 (1722 AD)
Billion; poor silver

             
            
Shah Dynasty
KM 472.2 ; used for clipped or cutted coins
Year SE 1698 (1776 AD)
Billion; poor silver

Clipped or cutted coin.
The silver Mohar KM472.2, was struck in large quantities and sent to Tibet, where it was often cut or clipped for use as small change. The full coin circulated at the value of 1.5 Sho. If this coin was cut into fractions of 2/3, 1/2  or 1/3 the value of the cutted coin was 1, 0.75 and 0.5 Sho.

          
Cutted coins

Two methods of cutting were use, the earliest method merely used a straight line cut, whereas during the early 19th century it became normal to cut much of the center out of the fractions. The denomation was determined by the number of petals visible. The cutted coins continued to circulate until the 1920's.