Scouts in Bhutan

Bhutan issued a commemorative set at Phuntsholing on 28 March 1967 honouring the Boy Scouts of Bhutan. Harrison & Sons printed the diamond-shaped stamps by photogravure; the perforated values are gauged about 13½ and were issued in panes of 40.

Three designs alternate across six face values. The 5 ch and 50 ch show two Scouts in Bhutanese dress and red neckerchiefs planting a sapling beside a yellow tent. The 10 ch and 1.25 Nu show two Scouts cooking over a stone hearth against Himalayan peaks. The 15 ch and 4 Nu show a Scout climbing a snow slope with rope, ice axe and backpack. Each stamp is inscribed BHUTAN in English and Dzongkha and carries a Scout fleur-de-lis. Imperforate singles of all six values exist.

A souvenir sheet of 5.25 Nu combines the 1.25 Nu cooking and 4 Nu climbing designs with flanking fleur-de-lis panels lettered Bhutan in English and Dzongkha; it exists perforated and imperforate. Printed quantities for the perforated stamps run from 100,000 for each of the three lower chetrum values down to 50,000 for the 50 ch, 30,000 for the 1.25 Nu and 20,000 for the 4 Nu, with 15,000 sheets. The postal status of the issue is disputed.