Catalog
10 Chetrums - Jigme Singye FAO
| Issuer | Royal Government of Bhutan |
|---|---|
| Year | 1975 |
| Type | Commemorative circulation coin |
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| Reverse description | Central field features the traditional Bhutanese Dorji Gyaltsen (crossed thunderbolts) emblem, rendered as an ornate symmetrical design with four interlocking vajra motifs radiating from a central floral rosette bearing a swastika device, a traditional Buddhist auspicious symbol. The elaborate interlaced design is executed in high relief against the plain field. The peripheral legend reads 'BHUTAN' in Latin script at the top and 'CHETRUMS 10' along the lower left, with the Dzongkha equivalent 'འབྲུག' at the upper left and 'ཕྱིང་ཊམ' at the lower right, all conforming to the scalloped twelve-lobed coin outline. |
| Reverse script | Latin/Dzongkha |
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| Additional information |
Issued as part of the FAO's "Food for All" campaign, which prompted dozens of governments throughout the 1970s to mint small-denomination coins carrying agricultural themes as a condition of program participation. Bhutan's involvement reflected the Fourth King Jigme Singye Wangchuck's early reign priorities — he had ascended the throne in 1972 at sixteen and was actively cultivating international institutional relationships for a kingdom that had only joined the United Nations the year prior.
Aluminium was the material of choice for FAO-affiliated issues across the developing world precisely because it kept production costs negligible for coins nobody expected to last long in circulation.