50 Ngultrum

The Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan was established only in 1982, relatively late by regional standards, and the ngultrum itself had only been introduced in 1974 to gradually displace the Indian rupee — which remained legal tender in Bhutan well into the 1990s. The 50 ngultrum denomination occupied an awkward middle position in a currency system that still coexisted, in practical daily use, with a foreign note.

Thomas De La Rue's involvement reflects Bhutan's consistent reliance on British security printers through this period. The watermark is the sole listed security feature — modest by 1994 standards, when the industry was already moving toward security threads and color-shifting inks.