Kathmandu, Oct. 21 -- Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) said around 41,000 silver coins were sold during this year's Tihar. The central bank did not issue gold coins, citing a shortage of high-quality 999.99-touch gold, and released only silver coins for distribution.

All the coins issued were 10-gram pieces. The NRB set daily prices based on the silver market rate, ranging from Rs3,000 to Rs3,300 per coin. At an average price of Rs3,100, the total value of silver coins sold is estimated at around Rs130 million.

Gold quality is usually classified as 22-carat or 24-carat, but the NRB assesses it based on touch numbers. A 999.99 touch denotes the highest purity, used for minting asarfi coins. Due to the shortage of such gold, the NRB did not issue ...