300 Ngultrum Takin

The takin (*Budorcas taxicolor*) was declared Bhutan's national animal in 1985, partly to preempt exactly the kind of commercial exploitation that coins like this one represent — a paradox the Royal Monetary Authority apparently ignored. The 300 Ngultrum denomination was never intended for circulation; the series was produced for the international collector market, a revenue strategy Bhutan pursued aggressively through the 1980s and 1990s with mixed results for numismatic credibility.