20 Ngultrum

Bhutan's first series of De La Rue-printed notes appeared in the late 1970s and early 1980s as the kingdom formalized its central banking infrastructure — the Royal Monetary Authority had only been established in 1982, meaning this 1981 note predates the institution that would eventually absorb its issuing functions. The "Royal Government" designation reflects exactly that transitional moment, before the RMA assumed formal authority over currency issuance.

De La Rue's involvement gave the series a technical quality far beyond what Bhutan's domestic capacity could have supported at the time. A watermark was the sole security feature — modest even by early 1980s standards, though consistent with the low-denomination, low-volume circulation needs of one of the world's smallest economies.