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August 21, 2013 - HONG KONG484748 (x1.5)47 Tibet, Qian Long, 1-Sho, 3.62g, 60th year, large variety (28mm), 24 beads, divided intotwo groups of six and one group of 12 beads, rev. 24 beads, divided into four groups ofsix beads (YZM 105-115; KM. C#72.2; LM 640), very fine48 Tibet, Qian Long, 1-Sho, 3.49g, 61st year, 24 beads on both sides, date reads clockwise,starting at 9 o’clock near the rim: nian liu shi yi (year sixty-one), rev. Tibetan date readsclockwise, starting at 12 o’clock near the rim: dgu cu re gcig (sixty-one) (YZM 116; KM.C#72.2; LM 640A var), in PCGS holder, graded XF 45, very fine and very rareThe Qian Long Emperor abdicated in favour of his son at the end of the 60th year of hisreign. By the time the news about his abdication reached Lhasa, the mint had started toproduce coins with the date 61 (Rhodes, 1975).The rare Sino-Tibetan coins of Qian Long, 61st year, form the subject of the short story“Vagabond Spirit” by the Chinese author Ma Yuan (born in 1953). See Ma Yuan: Balladof the Himalaya: stories of Tibet, translated by Herbert J. Batt, MerwinAsia Publishing,Portland, Me., 2011.See also: http://merwinasia.com/Reviews/balad_of_the_himalayas_excerpts.phpHK$4,500-6,000(US$550-750)HK$23,000-30,000(US$3,000-4,000)4949 (x1.5)49 Tibet, Qian Long, 1-Sho, 3.74g, 61st year, 36 beads on both sides, date reads clockwise,starting at 9 o’clock near the rim: nian liu shi yi (year sixty-one), rev. Tibetan date readsclockwise, starting at 12 o’clock near the rim: dgu cu re gcig (sixty-one) (YZM 117; KM.C#72.2; LM 640A), in PCGS holder, graded XF, very fine and very rareHK$23,000-30,000(US$3,000-4,000)21