500 Ngultrum

Thomas De La Rue has printed Bhutanese currency since the Royal Monetary Authority's earliest note issues in the 1970s, making this a long-standing commercial relationship rather than a one-off contract. The 500 Ngultrum sits at the top of the standard circulation series — Bhutan never issued a 1,000 Ngultrum note during this period, which makes the 500 the highest-denomination workhorse in everyday large transactions in a country where banking infrastructure outside Thimphu and Phuentsholing remains limited.

The 2006–2020 date range reflects reprint runs rather than design changes; the series was issued across multiple years with no substantive modification to the security specification.