1000 Ngultrum Year of the Rooster

Bhutan's lunar series issues are produced under a licensing arrangement typical of many small-nation commemorative programs, with the actual striking contracted to foreign mints rather than any domestic facility — Bhutan has never operated a functioning mint of its own. The Royal Monetary Authority has issued coins of this type primarily for the international collector market since the 1970s, a program that generates foreign exchange rather than circulating currency.

The Rooster holds the tenth position in the twelve-year Tibetan-Buddhist lunar cycle as observed in Bhutan, where the calendar system derives from the Kalachakra tradition rather than the Chinese model most Western collectors associate with these themes.