The 500 Ngultrum banknote issued by the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan in 2011 is part of the 2006–2020 series, featuring enhanced security elements and updated signatures. The obverse showcases a portrait of King Ugyen Wangchuck, Bhutan’s first hereditary monarch, adorned with the Raven Crown, a symbol of sovereignty. Surrounding the portrait are two dragons, representing the spiritual and temporal guardians of Bhutan.
The reverse depicts the Punakha Dzong, a historic fortress-monastery located at the confluence of the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu rivers. This dzong is significant in Bhutanese history and culture. The note is printed on paper and includes advanced security features such as a windowed security thread with demetalized “RMA 500” text, a watermark of King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, and fine-line intaglio printing. It measures 155 x 70 mm and is primarily red in color.
Obverse
Orange on multicolour underprint
Ugyen Wangchuk with the raven crown
Scripts: Latin, Tibetan
Reverse
Punakha Dzong
Scripts: Latin, Tibetan
Lettering:
ROYAL MONETARY AUTHORITY OF BHUTAN
FIVE HUNDRED NGULTRUM
Signatures
| Lyonpo Wangdi Norbu (LWN) | Chairman |  |
| Daw Tenzin (DT) | Chairman |  |
| Dasho Penjore (DP) | Chairman |  |
Printer
De La Rue (Thomas de la Rue; Thomas De La Rue & Co.; TDLR), London, United Kingdom (1821-date)
Features
| Issuer | Bhutan |
|---|---|
| Issuing bank | Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan (བྲུག་རྒྱལ་གཞུང་དངུལ་ལས་དབང་འཛིན་) |
| King | Jigme Khesar Namgyel (འཇིགས་མེད་གེ་སར་རྣམ་རྒྱལ་དབང་ཕྱུག་) (2006-date) |
| Type | Standard circulation banknotes |
| Years | 2006-2020 |
| Value | 500 Ngultrums 500 BTN = GBP 4.28 |
| Currency | Ngultrum (1974-date) |
| Composition | Paper |
| Size | 155 × 70 mm |
| Shape | Rectangular |
