Bhutan's 1966 coinage series, of which this piece is part, was among the first issues struck to a decimal system following the country's currency reform — a modernization effort undertaken as Bhutan began cautiously opening to international economic relations under Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. The naya paisa denominations were short-lived; the "naya" designation was dropped within a few years as the paisa became the established subunit of the ngultrum.
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck died in 1972 before fully seeing the modernization program through.
Bhutan's 1966 coinage series, of which this piece is part, was among the first issues struck to a decimal system following the country's currency reform — a modernization effort undertaken as Bhutan began cautiously opening to international economic relations under Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. The naya paisa denominations were short-lived; the "naya" designation was dropped within a few years as the paisa became the established subunit of the ngultrum.
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck died in 1972 before fully seeing the modernization program through.