100 Ngultrum

Bhutan's first formal banknote series was introduced in 1974, replacing the traditional practice of barter and silver-coin exchange in a country that had largely operated without paper currency into the latter half of the twentieth century. The Royal Monetary Authority, established in 1982, did not yet exist when this note was issued — it was released under the Royal Government directly, making P#11 part of a transitional moment before Bhutan had a fully institutionalized central bank.

Thomas De La Rue handled the early Bhutanese series at a time when the kingdom was just beginning to integrate with international financial systems, having joined the IMF in 1981, the same year this note was printed.