How to Identify the Nepalese Mohar

Start with the size and metal. The Nepalese Mohar is a small, relatively thick silver coin, clearly smaller than an Indian rupee or a US quarter. A genuine piece is non-magnetic silver with the soft grey tone of an old struck coin, and the flan is often slightly irregular with some of the legend running off the edge. That irregularity is normal for hand-struck Himalayan silver and is not by itself a sign of a fake; a coin that is magnetic, brassy or perfectly machine-round for its type should be examined more closely.

Read the surface for script and symbols. Both faces are crowded with ornament: expect a ring of Devanagari (Nagari) legend around a geometric, mandala-style central design, with auspicious devices such as a trident, a sword, the sun and crescent moon, and lotus or floral motifs. There is no royal portrait and no Latin lettering anywhere. This combination of dense Nagari script and Hindu mandala symbolism is the single most reliable identifier and immediately separates the mohar from British India rupees, Tibetan tangkas and other regional silver.

Use the date and legend to pin down the coin. The date is given in the Saka era in Devanagari numerals rather than the Western calendar, so it will not match a Western year directly; adding roughly 78 years converts a Saka date to the Common Era. The issuing Shah king can be read from the Devanagari legend by anyone familiar with the script, which is how specialists attribute a mohar to a particular reign. Where the legend is weak or off the flan, attribution may rest on the visible symbols and the surviving portions of the date.

Distinguish the full mohar from its fractions and look-alikes. Nepalese silver was also struck in smaller denominations such as the half mohar (adha) and lesser fractions, all sharing the same style of script and mandala design, so the diameter and weight are what separate a full mohar from a fraction. Be aware that Nepal also produced silver for Tibetan circulation and that Tibetan tangkas of similar size exist; the Devanagari legends and Nepalese symbolism, rather than Tibetan script, mark a coin as a Shah mohar.

For authentication, weigh and measure the coin and compare it with catalogue figures for the mohar, since correct diameter and weight are hard for casual fakes to match. Genuine mohars are struck, so beware of casting seams, bubbles, a mushy or grainy surface, or a dull thud instead of a silver ring, all of which point to a cast copy. Because weak strikes are common, judge authenticity from fabric, weight and metal rather than from a partially missing legend alone, and for higher-value or scarce-reign pieces seek expert opinion or third-party certification.