# Bhutanese ngultrum

The ngultrum (/əŋˈɡʊltrəm/ əng-GUUL-trəm or /əŋˈɡuː(l)trəm/ əng-GOO(L)-trəm; Dzongkha: དངུལ་ཀྲམ, IPA:, lit. 'silver coin'; symbol: Nu., code: BTN) is the currency of the Kingdom of Bhutan. It is subdivided into 100 chhertum (Dzongkha: ཕྱེད་ཏམ, IPA:, lit. 'half [coin]'; spelled as chetrums on coins until 1979). The Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan, the central bank of Bhutan, is the minting authority of the ngultrum banknotes and coins. The ngultrum is currently pegged to the Indian rupee at parity.

## History

Until 1789, the coins of the Cooch Behar mint circulated in Bhutan. Following this, Bhutan began issuing its own coins known as chetrum, mostly silver 1⁄2 rupees. Hammered silver and copper coins were the only types issued until 1929, when modern style silver 1⁄2 rupee coins were introduced, followed by bronze 1 paisa in 1931 (dated 1928). Nickel 1⁄2 rupee coins were introduced in 1950. While the Cooch Behar mint coins circulated alongside Bhutan's own coins, decimalization was introduced in 1957, when Bhutan's first issue of coins denominated in naya paisa. The 1966 issues were 25 naya paisa, 50 naya paisa and 1 rupee coins, struck in cupro-nickel.
While the Bhutanese government developed its economy in the early 1960s, monetization in 1968 led to the establishment of the Bank of Bhutan. As monetary reforms took place in 1974, the Ngultrum was officially introduced as 100 Chhetrum equal to 1 Ngultrum. The Ngultrum retained the peg to the Indian rupee at par, which the Bhutanese coins had maintained.
The term derives from the Dzongkha ngul, "silver" and trum, a Hindi loanword meaning "money."
The Ministry of Finance issued its first banknotes in 1974 in denominations of Nu.1, Nu.5, Nu.10 and Nu.100. This was followed by the establishment of the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan as the central bank of Bhutan in 1982, which took over the authority to issue banknotes in 1983, replacing the authority of the Ministry of Finance.

## Coins

In 1974, aluminum Ch.5 and Ch.10, aluminium-bronze Ch.20, and cupro-nickel Ch.25 and Nu.1 were introduced. The Ch.5 was square and the Ch.10 was scallop-shaped. A new coinage was introduced in 1979, consisting of bronze Ch.5 and Ch.10, and cupro-nickel Ch.25 and Ch.50 and Nu.1 and Nu.3. Aluminium-bronze Ch.25 was also issued dated 1979. Ch.5 and Ch.10 have largely ceased circulating. Currently, coins are available in denominations of Ch.20, Ch.25, Ch.50 and Nu.1.
| Image | Value | Technical parameters | Technical parameters | Technical parameters | Technical parameters | Description | Description | Date of | Date of |
| Image | Value | Diameter | Thickness | Weight | Edge | Obverse | Reverse | issue | withdrawal |
| | Ch.20 | 22.00 mm | 1.8 mm | 4.5 g | Reeded | Man working in field. Lettering: ཀུན་ལ་བཟའ་བཏུང FOOD FOR ALL | Lesser Version of Coat of Arms Lettering: འབྲུག BHUTAN CHETRUMS 20 ཕྱེད་ཊམ | 1974 | Current |
| | Ch.25 | 22.20 mm | 1.8 mm | 4.6 g | Reeded | Golden fishes of good fortune. Lettering: ROYAL GOVERNMENT OF BHUTAN | Dorje (a double diamond-thunderbolt) is a part of Coat of Arms and represents the harmony between secular and religious power Lettering: ཕྱེད་ཀྲམ་ཉེར་ལྔ། TWENTY-FIVE CHHERTUM | 1979 | Current |
| | Ch.50 | 25.85 mm | 1.8 mm | 6.9 g | Reeded | Treasure vase (One of the 8 Revered Buddhist Symbols). Lettering: ROYAL GOVERNMENT OF BHUTAN | Eight Various Revered Buddhist Symbols & in the center is the word འབྲུག (BHUTAN) Lettering: ཕྱེད་ཀྲམ་ལྔ་བཅུ། FIFTY CHHERTUM. | 1979 | Current |
| | Nu.1 | 27.95 mm | 1.7 mm | 8.2 g | Reeded | Coat of Arms within circle, date below Elaborate designed Wheel of Dharma on a Lotus. Lettering: ROYAL GOVERNMENT OF BHUTAN | Coin divided into nine sections within circle, each has symbol, denomination below Eight Various Revered Buddhist Symbols & in the center is the word འབྲུག Lettering: དངུལ་ཀྲམ་གཅིག། ONE NGULTRUM | 1979 | Current |

## Banknotes
### Previous series

On June 2, 1974, Nu.1, Nu.5 and Nu.10 notes were introduced by the Royal Government of Bhutan, followed by Nu.2, Nu.20, Nu.50, and Nu.100 in 1978. On August 4, 1982, the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan Act was enacted, although the RMA did not begin operations until November 1, 1983, and did not issue its own family of notes until 1986.
Previous series :
| Image | Image | Value | Dimensions | Main Colour | Description | Description | Description |
| Obverse | Reverse | Value | Dimensions | Main Colour | Obverse | Reverse | Watermark |
| | | Nu.1 | 114 x 62 mm | Blue | The Government crest, two dragons | Simtokha Dzong | "Royal Monetary Authority" in top and bottom margin |
| | | Nu.5 | 130 × 62 mm | Orange | The Government crest, two mythical bird (Bja Tshering) (the bird of long life) | Paro Rinpung Dzong | "Royal Monetary Authority" in top and bottom margin |
| | | Nu.10 | 140 × 70 mm | Purple | The Government crest, Dungkar (conch) (one of the eight lucky signs), Jigme Singye Wangchuck | Paro Rinpung Dzong | "Royal Monetary Authority" in top and bottom margin |
| | | Nu.20 | 152 × 70 mm | Yellow-green | The Government crest, Khorlo (Wheel of Dharma, one of the eight auspicious signs), Jigme Dorji Wangchuck | Punakha Dzong | "Royal Monetary Authority" in top and bottom margin |
| | | Nu.50 | 155 × 70 mm | Pink | The Government crest, Khorlo (Wheel of Dharma, one of the eight auspicious signs), Jigme Dorji Wangchuck | Trongsa Dzong, two mythical birds Bja Tshering (bird of long life) | "Royal Monetary Authority" in top and bottom margin |
| | | Nu.100 | 161 × 70 mm | Green | Norbu Rimpochhe (one of the seven auspicious gems), Jigme Singye Wangchuck | Tashichho Dzong | Crossed Dorji (Dorji jardrum) |
| | | Nu.500 | 160 × 70 mm | Red | Norbu Rimpochhe encircled by two Dragons (one of the seven auspicious gems), Ugyen Wangchuck | Punakha Dzong | Crossed Dorji (Dorji jardrum) |
| For table standards, see the banknote specification table. ||||||||

### Present series

In 2006, the Monetary Authority introduced its latest series of notes, with denominations of Nu.1, Nu.5, Nu.10, Nu.20, Nu.50, Nu.100, Nu.500, and Nu.1000. These notes use a hybrid substrate.
2006–present Series :
| Image | Image | Value | Dimensions | Main Color | Description | Description | Date of issue | Date of first issue | Watermark |
| Obverse | Reverse | Value | Dimensions | Main Color | Obverse | Reverse | Date of issue | Date of first issue | Watermark |
| | | Nu.1 | 120 x 60 mm | Blue, red and green | Dragons flanking Wheel of Dharma | Simtokha Dzong | 2006 2013 | November 20, 2006 | None |
| | | Nu.5 | 125 x 60 mm | Yellow, brown and red | Birds | Paro Taktsang | 2006 2011 2015 | November 20, 2006 | None |
| | | Nu.10 | 125 x 65 mm | Purple, dark green and yellow | Jigme Singye Wangchuck; Dungkar (conch), one of the eight good luck symbols | Paro Rinpung Dzong | 2006 2013 | 2007 | Jigme Singye Wangchuck |
| | | Nu.20 | 130 x 65 mm | Yellow and green | Jigme Dorji Wangchuck | Punakha Dzong | 2006 2013 | November 20, 2006 | Jigme Dorji Wangchuck |
| | | Nu.50 | 145 x 70 mm | Pink, orange and green | Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck | Trongsa Dzong | 2008 2013 | November 6, 2008 | Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck |
| | | Nu.100 | 145 x 70 mm | Green | Jigme Singye Wangchuck; Norbu Rimpochhe, one of the seven auspicious gems | Tashichho Dzong, dragons in upper corners | 2006 2011 2015 | 2007 | Jigme Singye Wangchuck |
| | | Nu.500 | 155 x 70 mm | Pink, orange and green | Ugyen Wangchuck with the Raven Crown | Punakha Dzong | 2006 2011 | November 20, 2006 | Jigme Singye Wangchuk |
| | | Nu.1000 | 165 x 70 mm | Yellow, red and gold | Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck with the Raven Crown | Tashichho Dzong | 2008 2016 | November 6, 2008 | Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck |
| For table standards, see the banknote specification table. ||||||||||

### Commemorative notes

Commemorative notes :
| Image | Value | Dimensions | Main Color | Description | Description | Date of issue | Date of first issue | Watermark |
| Image | Value | Dimensions | Main Color | Obverse | Reverse | Date of issue | Date of first issue | Watermark |
| | Nu.100 | 145 x 70 mm | Orange, brown and red | Mythical angel carrying the Raven Crown; national emblem; royal wedding logo consisting of khorlo (wheel) signifying royalty, circles with dhar (ceremonial scarf) signifying eternal union of thap (method) and sherab (wisdom), and the dham tshig tsangma and lotus, symbolizing purity of union; Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Queen Jetsun Pema | Punakha Dzong (aka Pungtang Dechen Photrang Dzong, meaning “the palace of great happiness or bliss”) | 2011 | October 13, 2011 | None |
| | Nu.100 | 146 x 70 mm | Yellow, gold, blue, and red | King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Queen Jetsun Pema; Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck | Mountains; dragon | February 5, 2016 | 2017 | Jigme Singye Wangchuck with electrotype swirl |
| For table standards, see the banknote specification table. |||||||||