Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1/2 Rupee / Deb Period I
| Issuer | Bhutan |
|---|---|
| Year | 1790-1820 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/2 Rupee / Deb |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central field divided by a bold linear cross or grid framework into four quadrants, each containing stylized Tibetan or Lantsa script characters rendered in a highly schematic and decorative manner. The legends, boldly raised and deeply hammered, occupy the upper and lower sections of the divided field, with prominent pellets and curved strokes characteristic of Bhutanese calligraphic convention. The irregular flan and hammered technique result in a slightly uneven surface, with the design extending nearly to the coin's rim. The composition is enclosed within a plain hammered border, consistent with the undated coinage of the Deb Raja period. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | ND (1790-1820) |
| Additional information |
Bhutan's earliest coinage emerged not from a sophisticated mint infrastructure but from a loosely organized production system tied to the Druk Desi — the temporal rulers who governed alongside the Je Khenpo during this period. The coins were struck by hand, with considerable variation in flan preparation and die alignment, which is why no two examples from this thirty-year window are quite alike. The "Deb" designation itself derives from "Deb Raja," the title applied by British East India Company officials to the Druk Desi in their diplomatic correspondence.
Company traders encountered these coins primarily in the foothills markets along the Bengal frontier.