10 Chetrums - Jigme Singye

Bhutan's 1974 coinage series was issued to coincide with the coronation of Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who ascended the throne at age seventeen following the death of his father Jigme Dorji Wangchuck in 1972. The aluminium issues of this series were a practical concession — Bhutan's mountainous, remote geography made lightweight coinage far more manageable for distribution across a country with almost no paved roads at the time.

The chetrum denominations saw limited circulation outside Bhutan's small domestic economy, and many examples survive in essentially unhandled condition simply because the coins outpaced demand.