An interesting piece from the top of the world

Bhutan

(Map showing the location of Bhutan in between China (above) and India (below). From Wikipedia).

Bhutan is a small Buddhist kingdom in the Himalayas. It is the highest country in the world averaging 3,279 meters (10,760 feet) above sea level. Tibet / China is to the north and India to the south.

Archaeological remnants of stone walls, weapons, and stone structures indicate that Bhutan has been inhabited for at least 4,000 years. Oral history, mythology and tradition, however, only go back to the 7th century AD. At this time, the Tibetan King, Songsten Gampo built two of the very first monumental Buddhist Temples: Kyichu and Jambay Lhakhang, introducing Buddhism for the very first time.

Although Buddhism spread, well until the early 17th century Bhutan was all but in a state of anarchy. There was no central authority, no dominant religion; the country was divided into small warring fiefdoms each ruled by their warlords, practicing different religions or a different twist on the same religion. A lot of early historical records have been lost. Notably, much was destroyed by a fire in 1827 in Punakha, the ancient capital of Bhutan. In 1774, the Anglo Bhutanese treaty was signed between Bhutan and British India. This was followed by British Indian missions to Bhutan to establish trade links. Relations deteriorated in the 1860s, leading to Duar war. Instability continued for the next 40 years until, in 1907, the monk body, the government and the representatives of the people unanimously elected Sir Ugyen Wangchuk as the first Hereditary King of Bhutan. This was the beginning of the Wangchuck dynasty, which continues to this day.

Bhutan’s fourth king, Jigme Singye Wangchuck reigned from 1972 to 2007. He is celebrated as one of the most influential monarchs in the nation’s history. During his rule, the country embraced modernization while safeguarding its rich cultural heritage.

Overseas, he is known best for conceiving and putting into practice the concept of ‘Gross National Happiness.’ GNH, at heart, is a development philosophy that takes into account the well-being of a person from a non-economic perspective as well. GNH is founded on the pillars of sustainable development, cultural preservation, good governance and equitable socio-economic development. The objectives of Bhutan, and the Buddhist understandings of happiness, are much broader than those that are referred to as ‘happiness’ in the Western literature. Under the title of ‘happiness’ in GNH are a range of domains of human wellbeing including traditional areas of social concern such as living standards, health, and education, while some are less traditional, such as time use, psychological well-being, culture, community vitality, and environmental diversity.

Obverse

This is an unusual coin for me to write up, primarily because I can’t really describe it! Numista has no information about the design whatsoever (and I’m only guessing that is the right one, it looks close). NGC offer some descriptions for variations of coins. But none which seem to describe this (and none have pictures to be sure), and I couldn’t find anything else online confirming the design. I do quite like the design; it is very tactile and geometric. If you do know anything about it, please do get in touch and I will be very happy to update this with full credit to you.

Numista lists all of these as copper, or bronze. The yellow colour definitely suggests predominantly either bronze or brass rather than copper for my piece.

Reverse

As with the obverse, I really have no information about this piece. Numista list a number of 1/2 Rupee coins, most with very little information. This piece has a chart with images of some of the variants known to exist. Mine appears to possibly be KM 8.3 based on the right facing crescent over dot over upward facing crescent to the right of the thunderbolt on the obverse. I can’t make out the dots around the O on the reverse, so I’m not sure if mine are worn or if it didn’t have them.

The best I could find was on this variant, which noted the obverse as “Letter “ma” at top right.” and the reverse as “Hook in letter “cha”.” I did find this chart of Buddhist letters, but I must admit…. I didn’t find that helpful and couldn’t find anything like the symbols “ma” or “cha” on my coin. So, I’ll stop there – but please do let me know if you can shed any light on the design!