2 Ngultrum

Bhutan's Royal Monetary Authority was established only in 1982, and this note belongs to the institution's earliest independently managed series — the country had relied on the Reserve Bank of India for currency management well into the 1970s. Thomas De La Rue's involvement was predictable for a small newly sovereign issuer seeking international credibility, but the 2 Ngultrum denomination itself was an oddity even at issue, occupying an awkward position in daily commerce in a country where barter remained common in rural areas through much of the decade.

The watermark is the sole security feature — no security thread, no fluorescent printing. Bhutan's low counterfeiting risk at the time made elaborate protection economically unjustifiable.