Bhutanese ngultrum

Currency of Bhutan

Ngultrum (Dzongkha)

ISO 4217
Code| BTN (numeric: 064)
Subunit| 0.01
Unit
Symbol| Nu.
Denominations
Subunit|
1⁄100| chhertum
Symbol|
chhertum| Ch.
Banknotes| Nu.1, Nu.5, Nu.10, Nu.20, Nu.50, Nu.100, Nu.500, Nu.1000[1][2]
Coins|
Rarely used| Ch.5, Ch.10, Ch.25, Ch.50, Nu.1, Nu.3
Demographics
Date of introduction| 1974
User(s)|  Bhutan (alongside Indian rupee)
Issuance
Monetary authority| Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan
Website| www.rma.org.bt
Valuation
Inflation| 5.2%
Source| Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan, 2015 est.
Pegged with|  Indian rupee (at par)

This article contains Tibetan script. Without proper rendering support, you may see very small fonts, misplaced vowels or missing conjuncts instead of Tibetan characters.

The ngultrum (/əŋˈɡʊltrəm/ əng-GUUL-trəm or /əŋˈɡuː(l)trəm/ əng-GOO(L)-trəm; Dzongkha: དངུལ་ཀྲམ, IPA: [ŋýˈʈúm], 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: [pt͡ɕʰɛ́ˈtám], 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

[edit]

Until 1789, the coins of the Cooch Behar mint circulated in Bhutan.[3] 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.[4]

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.[5]

The term derives from the Dzongkha ngul, "silver" and trum, a Hindi loanword meaning "money."[6]

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.[7]

## Coins

[edit]

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 | Description | Date of

|
|
|
|

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

[edit]

### Previous series

[edit]

On June 2, 1974,[8] 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.[8] 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.[8]

Previous series [1]

Image | Value | Dimensions | Main Colour | Description
Obverse | Reverse | 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
|  | Nu.10  | 140 × 70 mm  | Purple  | The Government crest, Dungkar (conch) (one of the eight lucky signs), Jigme Singye Wangchuck
|  | 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
|  | Nu.50  | 155 × 70 mm  | Pink  | Trongsa Dzong, two mythical birds Bja Tshering (bird of long life)
|  | 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
For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

### Present series

[edit]

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.[9]

2006–present Series

Image | Value | Dimensions | Main Color | Description | Date of issue | Date of first issue | Watermark
Obverse | Reverse | Obverse | Reverse
[2] | [3] | Nu.1  | 120 x 60 mm  | Blue, red and green  | Dragons flanking Wheel of Dharma | Simtokha Dzong | 2006
2013  | November 20, 2006  | None
[4] | [5] | Nu.5  | 125 x 60 mm  | Yellow, brown and red  | Birds  | Paro Taktsang | 2006
2011
2015  | November 20, 2006  | None
[6] | [7] | 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
[8] | [9] | Nu.20  | 130 x 65 mm  | Yellow and green  | Jigme Dorji Wangchuck | Punakha Dzong | 2006
2013  | November 20, 2006  | Jigme Dorji Wangchuck
[10] | [11] | 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
[12] | [13] | 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
[14] | [15] | 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
[16] | [17] | 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

[edit]

Commemorative notes

Image | Value | Dimensions | Main Color | Description | Date of issue | Date of first issue | Watermark
Obverse | Reverse
[18] | 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
[19] | 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.

## Exchange rate

[edit]

Current BTN exchange rates

From Google Finance:  | AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD JPY USD
From Yahoo! Finance:  | AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD JPY USD
From XE.com:  | AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD JPY USD
From OANDA:  | AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD JPY USD

## See also

[edit]

* Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan
* Economy of Bhutan

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "BanknoteNews – Breaking news about world paper money. Powered by the Banknote Book". banknotenews.com. Archived from the original on 2016-01-25. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
2. ^ Bhutan issues new 50- and 1,000-ngultrum notes Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine BanknoteNews.com. Retrieved 2011-10-15.
3. ^ "Old Coins of Bhutan". Mintage World. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
4. ^ "Currency Information: Bhutanese Rupee". ExchangeRate.com. Retrieved 29 September 2016. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Unported License.
5. ^ "Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan - History". rma.org.bt. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
6. ^ Berlin, Howard M. (24 October 2008). World Monetary Units: An Historical Dictionary, Country by Country. McFarland. ISBN 9781476606736 - via Google Books.
7. ^ "Royal Monetary Authority Act of Bhutan 1982" (PDF). Government of Bhutan. 1982. Retrieved 2010-10-08.
8. ^ a b c Linzmayer, Owen (2011). "Bhutan". The Banknote Book. San Francisco, CA: BanknoteNews.com. Retrieved 2011-08-21.
9. ^ "Bhutan - Banknote News". www.banknotenews.com. Archived from the original on 5 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.

* Krause, Chester L.; Clifford Mishler (1991). Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1801–1991 (18th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873411501.
* Panish, Charles K: "Early Coinage of Bhutan". The American Numismatic Society, Museum Notes 17, New York 1971, p. 247-254 and plates XLVII-XLVIII.
* Rhodes, Nicholas:The Coinage of Bhutan. Oriental Numismatic Society, Information Sheet no 16, January 1977.
* Rhodes, Nicholas: "Coinage in Bhutan".Journal of Bhutan Studies.. The Centre of Bhutan Studies, vol. 1, no. 1, Thimphu, Autumn, 1999, p. 84-113.
* Rhodes, Nicholas: "The Monetisation of Bhutan". Journal of Bhutan Studies.. The Centre of Bhutan Studies, vol. 2, no. 1, Thimphu, Winter 2000, p. 85-103.
* Krause, Chester L.; Clifford Mishler (1991). Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1801–1991 (18th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873411501.
* Pick, Albert (1994). Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: General Issues. Colin R. Bruce II and Neil Shafer (editors) (7th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-207-9.

## External links

[edit]

* Analysis of Pegged Exchange Rate Between Bhutan and India
* Bhutan Currecy & Banks in Bhutan
* Historical and current banknotes of Bhutan
* http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/jbs/pdf/JBS_01_01_04.pdf
* http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/jbs/pdf/JBS_02_02_03.pdf
* https://web.archive.org/web/20120806142959/http://picasaweb.google.com/Vercrusse/Bhutan_Coins02

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