Indonesian rupiah

	Indonesian rupiah; rupiah Indonesia (Indonesian)
	Rupiah banknotes, only the Rp 1000 and Rp 5000 notes are current
ISO 4217 Code	IDR
User(s)	Indonesia
Inflation	10.38 %
Source	Bank Indonesia, May 2008
Subunit
1/100	sen
Symbol	Rp
Coins
Freq. used	Rp 100, 200, 500
Rarely used	Rp 25, 50, 1000
Banknotes
Freq. used	Rp 1000, Rp 5000, Rp 10 000, Rp 20 000 Rp 50 000, Rp 100 000
Central bank	Bank Indonesia
Website	www.bi.go.id

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The rupiah (Rp) is the official currency of Indonesia. Issued and controlled by the Bank of Indonesia, the ISO 4217 currency code for the Indonesian rupiah is IDR. The symbol used on all banknotes and coins are Rp. The name derives from the Indian monetary unit rupee. Informally, Indonesians also use the word "perak" ('silver' in Indonesian) in referring to rupiah. The rupiah is subdivided into 100 sen, although inflation has rendered all coins and banknotes denominated in sen obsolete.

The Riau islands and the Indonesian half of New Guinea (Irian Barat) had their own variants of the rupiah, but these were subsumed into the national rupiah in 1964 and 1971 respectively (see Riau rupiah and West New Guinea rupiah).

[edit] Current legal tender

The current rupiah consists of coins from 25 rupiah up to 1,000 rupiah, and from banknotes of 1,000 rupiah up to 100,000 rupiah. With US$1 generally worth 9-10,000 rupiah, the largest Indonesian banknote is therefore worth around US$10.

As the smallest current note is worth approximately US$0.10, even small transactions such as bus fares are typically conducted with notes, and the 1,000 rupiah note is far more common than the 1,000 rupiah coin. The government has however announced a change to this, with a new 2000 rupiah note to be issued in Q2 2008, and the 1000 rupiah note withdrawn, to be replaced with a coin.[1] The measure is intended to cut the cost of issuing money. Hence denominations up to 1000 (~$0.10) would be handled in coin, and from 2000 (~$0.20) and up in notes.

Pre-1997 notes are no longer legal tender, due to the lack of security features and association with the Suharto regime, but can be exchanged in Bank Indonesia offices until 2010.[2] Due to the low value of the notes below 1000 rupiah, although they are no longer being circulated, some remain in use in increasingly poor condition, as low denomination 'uang pasar' (literally wet market money), outside the banking system for use in informal transactions.

The 10,000 rupiah notes and above all exist in two legal tender designs. However, the 2004 and 2005 series are gradually replacing the 1998 and 1999 series.

The central bank plans to issue a 2,000 rupiah banknote in a near term.

[edit] Coins

From 1991, a new coinage was introduced consisting of 25, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 rupiah coins. 200 rupiah pieces were introduced in 2003.

There are presently two series of coins in circulation: aluminium bronze and bi-metallic coins from 1991-1998 and light-weight aluminium coins from 1999 onwards. Due to the low value and general shortage of small denomination coins (below 100 rupiah), it is common to receive sweets in lieu of the last few rupiah of change in supermarkets and stores^{[citation needed]}.

Indonesian rupiah coins [3]
Value	Series	Diameter	Thickness	Weight	Material	Obverse	Reverse	Availability
Rp 1	1970	22 mm	1.4 mm	1.42 g	Aluminium	Sikatan Bird	Nominal "1"	None (Worth ~$0.0001)
Rp 25	1991	18 mm	1.98 mm	1.22 g		Garuda Pancasila	Nutmeg Fruit and nominal "25"	Low
Rp 50	1999	20 mm	2 mm	1.36 g			Nominal "50" and Kepodang Bird	High
Rp 100	1999	23 mm	2 mm	1.79 g			Nominal "100" and Palm Cockatoo Bird
Rp 200	2003	25 mm	2.3 mm	2.38 g			Nominal "200" and Bali Starling Bird
Rp 500	1991	24 mm	1.8 mm	5.29 g	Aluminium Bronze		Nominal "500" and Jasmine Flower	Low
	1997	24 mm	1.83 mm	5.34 g	Aluminium Bronze			Medium
	2003	27 mm	2.5 mm	3.1 g	Aluminium			High
Rp 1,000	1993	26 mm	2 mm	8.6 g	Bi-metal, Nickel and Aluminium Bronze		Palm Tree and nominal "1000"	Low

[edit] Banknotes

There are two legal tender series of Indonesian banknotes, the 1998-2001 series, which consists of the full range of denominations: 1000, 5000, 10000, 50000 and 100000 rupiah, and the 2004, 2005 updates of the higher denominations (10000 and above), with better anti-forgery devices.

Rupiah notes '1998', '1999', '2000', '2001' series
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Description						Date of				Remarks
Obverse	Reverse	Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Obverse	Reverse	Watermark	Signatures	Printer	Serial	issue	note series	first of denomination	replacement	Remarks
		1000 rupiah	141 × 65 mm	Blue and green	Captain Pattimura	Mutiara and Tidore Islands, with fisherman	Tjut Njak Meutia	Anwar Nasution (Deputy Governor Senior), Aulia Pohan (Deputy Governor)	Perum Peruri	3 letters, 6 numbers	29th November 2000	'2000'	20th February 1967	Still being issued	Carries imprint date 2000-2008
		5000 rupiah	143 × 65 mm	Brown and green	Tuanku Imam Bonjol	Songket weaver, Tanah Datar	Tjut Njak Meutia	Syahril Sabirin (Governor), Miranda S. Goeltom (Deputy Governor)			6th November 2001	'2001'	2nd April 1970	Still being issued	Carries imprint date 2001-2008
		10000 rupiah	148 × 72 mm	Brown	Tjut Njak Dhien	Segara Anak Lake	Wage Rudolf Soepratman; security thread	J. Soedradjad Djiwandono (Governor), Mukhlis Rasyid (Director)			18th February 1998	'1998'	2nd April 1970		Carries imprint date 1998-2004
		20000 rupiah	152 × 72 mm	Green	Ki Hadjar Dewantara	Children in classroom	Ki Hadjar Dewantara; security thread	J. Soedradjad Djiwandono (Governor) Mukhlis Rasyid (Director)			23rd January 1998	'1998'	10th February 1992		Carries imprint date 1998-2003
		50000 rupiah	152 × 72 mm	Green and violet	WF Soepratman	Indonesian flag being raised	Omar Said Tjokroaminoto; security thread	Syahril Sabirin (Governor), Dono Iskandar Djojo (Deputy Governor)			1st June 1999	'1999'	1st March 1993		Carries imprint dates 1999-2004
		100000 rupiah	151 × 65 mm	Red, yellow, green and blue	Sukarno and Hatta, proclamation of independence	Indonesian Parliament building, Jakrta	Garuda Pancasila and the logo of Bank Indonesia ; security thread	Syahril Sabirin (Governor), Iwan R. Prawiranata (Deputy Governor)	Note Printing Australia; Note Printing Works Bank of Thailand		1st November 1999	'1999'	First of denomination		No imprint date; phosphorus number for security
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimetre, a Wikipedia standard for world banknotes. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Rupiah notes '2004', '2005' series, Printed Perum Peruri
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Description					Date of		Remarks
Obverse	Reverse	Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Obverse	Reverse	Watermark	Signatures	Serial	note series	issue	Remarks
		10000 rupiah	145 × 65 mm	Purple	Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II	The traditional Limas House of Palembang, South Sumatra	Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II	Burhanuddin Abdullah (Governor) Bun Bunan E.J. Hutapea (Deputy Governor)	3 letters, 6 numbers	'2005'	18th October 2005	Imprint 2005-2008
		20000 rupiah	147 × 65 mm	Green	Otto Iskandar Di Nata	Tea plantation, West Java	Otto Iskandar Di Nata	Burhanuddin Abdullah (Governor), Maulana Ibrahim (Deputy Governor)		'2004'	29th December 2004	Imprint 2004-2008
		50000 rupiah	149 × 65 mm	Blue	I Gusti Ngurah Rai	Beratan Lake in Bali	I Gusti Ngurah Rai	Burhanuddin Abdullah (Governor), Maman H. Soemantri (Deputy Governor)		'2005'	18th October 2005	Imprint 2005-2008
		100000 rupiah	151 × 65 mm	Red	As 1999		WR Supratman	Burhanuddin Abdullah (Governor), Aulia Pohan (Deputy Governor)		'2004'	29th December 2004	Imprint 2004-2008
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimetre, a Wikipedia standard for world banknotes. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

[edit] Security features

Collection of 50,000 rupiah bills clearly displaying the security threads.

The materials of the banknotes basically are long fibres from any kind of wood, or a mix of different types of wood. However, the preferable material is the Abaca fibre, which is naturally plentiful in Indonesia and is believe to increase the durability of the banknotes. The banknotes are made with the process of heating, to create a unique type of pulp.

The minimum security features for naked eyes are watermarks, electrotypes and security threads with color fibres. In addition to this, extra features may be included, such as holograms, Irisafe, iridescent stripes, clear windows, metameric windows and gold patches.
- Watermark and Electrotype are made by controlling the gap of density of the fibres which create certain images for the banknotes. This is done to raise the quality of the notes from the aesthetic view.
- Security threads are put in the middle of the note's materials so horizontal and vertical lines are shown from top to bottom. The threads also can be made with many variations such as the materials, size, color and design.

[edit] History of the Indonesian Rupiah

[edit] 1600-1942 - Dutch Colonial Money

From the early 17th Century, the Dutch East India Company issued coinage (marked 'VOC', the Dutch East Indiea Company) in its territory of what was to become the Netherlands Indies. The firm went bust in 1800, and control over the territory reverted to The Netherlands. The first coins were struck in the name of what was then the Dutch government, the Batavian Republic, in 1802, with low-value copper duit coins, as well as silver and gold gulden coins. The gulden replaced various local currencies throughout the Indies, with the Sumatran dollar disappearing in 1824, and the Javan Rupee, which had been minted by the Dutch, in 1816. Some other kingdoms and Sultanates had their own coins until they fell under Dutch control, such as the Aceh keping (Aceh was finally conquered in 1903).

The first coins were produced in Indonesia in the twelfth century. These coins were gold and silver lumps issued by the Indianized kingdoms such as the Sailendras of Java and the Srivijaya of Sumatra. In the thirteenth century, imported Chinese bronze coins were adopted as the official currency. These were supplemented by gold and tin coins with Arabic inscription issued in Sumatra and Sulawesi.

When Europeans began arriving in Indonesia, they brought with them gold coins from Portugal and Venice, and silver dollars from Mexico, Peru and Bolivia. Chinese and Japanese bronze coins were also imported along with Japanese gold coins and Indian rupees counterstamped by the Dutch.

The currency would be considered very stable by modern Indonesian standards, with the financial instrument for day-to-day transactions being low-value coins. One Netherlands Indies Guilder (IDDG) was divisible into 30 Stuyvers or 120 Duiten until 1854 when the Guilder was decimalized and made divisible into 100 cents. The Treasury issued banknotes between 1815 and June 30, 1861 when the banknotes were withdrawn. The Treasury also issued banknotes between 1919 and 1943. De Javasche Bank was established in 1828 and began issuing banknotes in 1864. The Netherlands Indies left the Gold Standard on November 26, 1936. The notes were generally issued in denominations of 5 gulden and above, with smaller transactions easily handled in coin.

Dutch money circulated in the Netherlands East Indies from 1610 until January 14, 1817 when the Netherlands East Indies adopted the Guilder as its currency, at par with the Netherlands Guilder (NLG). This led to special issues of coins for the Netherlands Indies in 1821 and 1833. Thirty Stuivers equaled a rupee and 66 stuivers equaled a dollar.

The Dutch produced coins especially for the Netherlands Indies in 1726. The Spanish Silver Dollar circulated in the Dutch Indies and was equal to 64 Stuivers or about 3.2 Dutch Guilders. The Netherlands Indies Paper Rijksdaalder was equivalent to a Spanish Silver Dollar. They also issued notes denominated in Spanish dollars dated 1 May 1812 and notes denominated in "Java rupees" dated 1814.

Although the role of the government (to issue coin) and the circulating bank (to issue bank notes of 5 gulden and up) was well established, in 1919 the government began issuing 1 and 2½ gulden notes, to address the issue of metal hoarding, largely caused by World War 1. ½ gulden notes were added in 1920.

Upon the outbreak of World War II, gulden coins were once again hoarded, and the government issued 1 and 2½ gulden notes in 1941 to address the shortage (partly caused by supply problems from the coins, which were minted in the United States).

[edit] 1942 - 1949 Japanese Invasion, and Indonesian independence - the dawn of hyperinflation in Indonesia

[edit] The Japanese Invasion

In 1942, the Japanese invaded the Netherlands Indies, taking control of the whole country, and Netherlands New Guinea, by March 1942. On their invading ships, they brought their own issue of the local money, the gulden. They liquidated the banks, including 'De Javasche Bank', and voided debt obligations.[4] The notes issued by 'De Japansche Regeering' (the Japanese government) would be legal tender from March 1942 (although the existing notes remained valid), with notes printed from 1 cent to 10 gulden, by the new (as of April 1942) circulating bank Nanpo Kaihatsu Ginko.

The Japanese money was supposed to have the same value as the old Dutch money, with the old money to be recalled from use, but the invaders soon printed excessive quantities of money, and it was quickly apparent that hyperinflation was in progress, and hence people hoarded the Dutch money. By the end of the War, the Japanese had caused a massive increase in the paper money supply, which was 230 million gulden pre-war, to several billion post-war. This, plus the actions of the post-war Dutch administration, caused massive inflation and damage to the stability and economy of the country.

As their occupation continued, by 1944 the Japanese had determined that their long-term strategic interests were best furthered by encouraging Indonesian nationalism, and so it issued a second series of notes printed in Indonesian language, the Netherlands Indies roepiah.

Existing stocks of notes continued remained in use by the new Indonesian government until they had printed their own money in 1946, while the notes actually continued to be printed until early 1946 in parts of Eastern Indonesia (where the Nationalists did not have control), as a temporary measure until the Dutch had re-established their pre-war administration across the scattered islands.

[edit] Dutch/Allied re-occupation

The Dutch government, which was in exile in London, had been making preparations for the end of the war, whereupon it hoped to regain control over its colony. In order to do so, in recognition of the fundamentally altered financial conditions under which they would be issued, it was anticipated that a governmental issue would be needed, in view of the weakened position of the private De Javasche Bank, which had previously been issuing banknotes.

The notes were ordered in December 1942, printed in the USA by the Security Bank Note Printing Company. The notes were dated 'March 1943' and labelled as 'Nederlandsch-Indische Gouvernementsgulden' printed in Dutch, along with the additional Indonesian text indicating the denomination of the notes and the word 'roepiah'. Denominations were 50 sen to 500 gulden.

At the end of the war, the Allies 'Netherlands Indies Civil Administration' (army), began to retake control of the old East Indies. It began issuing the 1943-dated money (the 'NICA gulden'), starting from 1944 in New Guinea, and subsequently in Maluku and Borneo, both of which were recaptured before the Japanese surrender in August 14th 1945. In areas under NICA control, pre-war Dutch notes were demonetized. Despite the fact that NICA had control over the outer parts of Indonesia, its authority to dictate the value of money was limited by the economic weakness of the administration and of The Netherlands itself. As a compromise NICA re-monetized the pre-war notes of 10 gulden and below, higher-valued notes not re-issued to reduce the inflationary effect of having the pre-war currency as well as new NICA money in circulated.

With the Japanese surrender, the administration was given official control of the institutions of the country by the Allies, and DJB, which had survived the war better than expected, was reincorporated on 10th October 1945.

Although the military action of the Allies in Eastern Indonesia and Kalimantan (Borneo) had introduced the NICA gulden into circulation in those areas, the transition back to Dutch control was not going to occur smoothly in the main islands of Java and Sumatra, and Allied military action gained control only over a few coastal enclaves, where Japanese money (large quantities of which were in storage by the Japanese).

The 'uang merah' ('red money' (the 10 rupiah note was red, and there may also be a reference to blood, as the money was unpopular with the Indonesian revolutionaries)) faced nationalist opposition to the principle of money issued by the Dutch, exarcebated by the fact that in spite of stated intentions to adopt a less colonial stance post-war, the notes had been printed in Dutch with a large picture of the Dutch Queen Wilhelmina.

When the first NICA money appeared in Java, Sukarno issued an immediate decree, of October 2 1945, to declare that the NICA notes were illegal.

With the lack of the kind of control needed to issue money effectively, the Dutch determined that it would be inadvisable to issue NICA money in the towns of Java and Sumatra, and prohibited their import.

With Japanese still acting as local government in Java and Sumatra, it was necessary for NICA to preserve the value of the Japanese money as much as possible, since it was the only means for them to pay the bills incurred in maintaining order. In many cases, the Japanese were instructed to simply print more money, and the Japanese currency in circulation continued to increase rapidly: the Japanese-originated inflation continued with increased pace. By February 1946, 2 billion Japanese money out of 2.5 billion captured in the state printers, had been spent, a vast sum against the entire pre-war circulation of less than 500 million gulden.

Due to the dwindling supplies of money, destruction of the printing plates at the main printers for re-issue, and disquiet amongst European forces at payment in Japanese money, which was losing value constantly, it was finally decided to issue the NICA gulden in Java on 6 March 1946. Pre-war notes of 5 gulden and below only were to retain validity, and the Japanese money was to be exchanged at a rate of 33 to 1.

This action enraged the Indonesians, who imposed a 5-year prison sentence on its use. One army regiment even went as far as to execute people carrying the money, hoisting their bodies in public with the money pinned onto them.

Due to the difficulties associated with using the money, the supply of food and basic goods from the Republican interior was poor, and the NICA money by June 1946 had fallen to a black market value of just 10 of the Japanese money (which was still the preferred money throughout Java), despite Dutch attempts to enforce the rate.

[edit] First notes of the Republic of Indonesia

Although the Republican government was firmly opposed to NICA money, seeing its exclusion as an important tool in the fight with the Dutch, the issue of its own money was slightly more considered.

After their October 2nd proclamation on NICA money, it declared the next day, that Japanese money as well as pre-NICA Dutch money would be legal tender in the Republic, at par. This parity reflected the fact that the Dutch money was no longer backed by gold reserves, the gold having been evacuated in the early part of the war.

The Indonesians had been advised by the British that an issue of Indonesian money would be financial and political suicide, but they had already decided to the contrary. The capture of their printing works and all the money in it by the Allies occurred in January 1946, but the printing plates survived, and with the action of the Dutch in introducing the NICA gulden in Java in March 1946, seen as an offensive act by the Indonesians, there was no impediment to their reprinting and issue. In addition, as with the Dutch, the Indonesians had obtained quantities of Japanese money from the vaults of the banks in the cities they controlled (approximately 600 million Japanese roepiah), and as with the Dutch, the supply was running out.

With only the small Malang printers, formerly of G. Kolff and Company, to print the money, printing of the money took several months, to July 1946.

The Republican government declared that the new central bank of Indonesia would be Bank Negara Indonesia, established on 5th July 1946, occupying the offices of De Javasche Bank in Yogyakarta.

Consequently, the Indonesian rupiah was eventually issued by proclamation of October 3 1946. In the year or so prior, the Japanese money had been a vital conduit of Republican goods to the Dutch enclaves, but the decree bought this to an end: all Japanese money was to be deposited with Republic banks by October 30 1946. Providing the depositors could account for how the money was obtained, they would be entitled to new new 'Oeang Republik Indonesia' (ORI) at the rate of 50 to 1. This policy had been derived from the Dutch geldzuivering of Dutch Minister of Finance Pieter Lieftinck (later Executive Director of the World Bank and IMF), who had trained Sumitro Djojohadikusumo (who had returned to Indonesia along with many other educated Indonesians after the War) in economics at university in The Netherlands. As in The Netherlands, each citizen was to be issued with 1rp to kickstart the circulation of new money. Undeposited money after October was declared worthless. In addition, the new money was said to be worth 0.5 grams of gold, similar to the pre-war Dutch currency, although this was not backed by metal reserves, merely a statement of purchasing power.

Due to a fear that the money would not be returned, there was panic buying of goods in the days following the decree, and prices of food (in Japanese money) soared by up to 30 times, with the blackmarket exchange rate to the NICA gulden rising to 120 to 1.

With the end of Japanese money (in Java only: in Sumatra and nearby Banten, West Java, further from the central government control, the Republic still regarded it as legal tender) as a conduit between the Republican interior and Dutch enclaves, the Dutch were forced to act, ending the exchange of Japanese money on October 30 1946, to avoid a flood of unexchanged Japanese money being brought for exchange with NICA gulden.

Thus as of November 1946, there were only two issues of money in use in Indonesia, the 1943-dated NICA gulden, and the 1945-dated ORI. There was never an official exchange rate between the two currencies, but with popular support for the currency strong, the ORI money was initially worth 5 NICA gulden. The currency, however, depreciated fast, falling to 2 gulden within 1 week, as the market determined the fair rate for the money, and by the end of 1946 to par. By March 1947, it was worth half a gulden, and by July 0.3 gulden. This inflation was caused by the Republican government, which was printing money to meet its obligations in the face of limited income of its own. By January 1947, 310 million rupiah had been printed, half the entire pre-war gulden circulation.

Due to the limited printing capacity of the government, it focused printing on 100 rupiah notes. Limited supply of smaller notes meant that the 100 rupiah notes were worth less than a combination of smaller notes. Rampant forgery only served to exarcebate the inflation of the Indonesian money.

Despite laws put in place to stop hoarding of goods, confidence in the currency could not be maintained. In Jakarta, the Indonesian money was worth even less than elsewhere, as a consequence of the demand for NICA-denominated imported goods. Republican attempts to maintain the value of Indonesian money (which was largely backed by the supply of rice from inner Java) could only slow, rather than stop, its decline.

[edit] Dutch money of 1947-1949

New money was issued by the Dutch from July 1947, in the form of fully Dutch/Indonesian bilingual gulden/roepiah notes from 'De Javasche Bank'. These notes were dated 1946, and consisted of 5 (violet), 10 (violet), 25 (red) gulden notes.

The supply of these soon exhausted, and the administration remonetized all of the pre-War DJB and government money as well, circulating unissued paper still stored in the vaults. This caused a 50% increase in the amount of money in circulation from 1947 to 1949. The administration also issued bronze and silver coins in the original pre-war denominations, minted from 1943 to 1945 in the USA, but due to inflation, the coins were worth more as scrap, and many were melted into household goods and silver artefacts. As a result, it issued treasury notes instead, from December 1 1947, in 10 and 25 sen denominations. These notes were successful as they were in Indonesian (with Dutch and Indonesian on the reverse) and stated to have been issued by 'Indonesia' (being NICA), and continued to be utilised by the Indonesian government even after independence, until 1951, when Indonesia acquired its first coins.

[edit] Local banknotes of Republic of Indonesia, 1947-1949

As the Republican government never had effective control of Indonesia beyond Java, from 1947 it instructed its regional outposts in Sumatra to issue money to replace the Japanese money from 1947. With the Dutch military action of July 1947 routing the Indonesians in much of Java as well, a smaller number of issues were made in cities of Java.

The notes were marked with the place of issue and were in different designs from the national money.

[edit] Banknote series of the Republic of Indonesia, 1945-1949

[edit] Republic of Indonesia banknotes - series 1, '1945'

The first 'Indonesian rupiah' bank notes bore the date of the proclamation on new Indonesian money, 17th October 1945, under the authority of the "Republik Indonesia", and were apparently intended for issue on February 1st 1946, but due to the capture of most of the notes, only a tiny number escaped at this time.

The circulation began in earnest in Java from October 10th 1946. The notes were in denominations of 1, 5, and 10 sen notes, plus ½, 1, 5, 10, and 100 rupiah notes.

1945 Republik Indonesia series
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Description				Date of			Remarks
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	Watermark	Serial	printing	issue	withdrawal
		1 sen	97 × 45 mm	Green	Keris	Legal text with wings	None	None	1946	October 10 1946	May 1 1950	Violet underprint
												Green underprint
		5 sen	100 × 49 mm	Violet	Various leaves	Legal text with wings						Buffalo underprint (strong)
				Dark blue								Buffalo underprint (faint)
		10 sen	105 × 51 mm	Black	Keris and machete underprint	Legal text						Narrow borders
				Brown
												Wide borders
		1/2 rupiah	119 × 58 mm	Green	Horned motif	Legal text		Six numbers two letters [01234]nnnnn [LMNPRST][PRTUVWX]				Pink underprint
												Orange underprint
		1 rupiah	138 × 65 mm	Blue	Sukarno, volcano	Volcano, legal text		Some without serial, some with six-digit, two-letter serial (1st letter is check code), some with simple two letter code
		5 rupiah	148 × 71 mm	Green	Rice stalk, Sukarno	Rikce stalks, legal text		Six numbers, two letters, first letter is check code; two different serial printing styles
		10 rupiah	160 × 77 mm	Blue	Sukarno, volcano	Legal text		Six numbers, two letters, or Six numbers, three letters. First letter is check code. Several serial printing styles
		100 rupiah	174 × 86 mm	Blue/green	Sukarno, keris, horns	Legal text, horned '100'		Five numbers, two letters, first letter is check code.
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimetre, a Wikipedia standard for world banknotes. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

[edit] Republic of Indonesia banknotes, Series 2, '1 January 1947'

The second series of money now emanated from 'Djokjakarta', the Republic's base following the 'Police Action' of July 21 1947, which had confined the Republicans to Yogyakarta and Central Java. The notes were dated January 1 1947, in denominations of 5, 10, 25, and 100 rupiah.

[edit] Republic of Indonesia banknotes, Series 3, '26 July 1947'

The next new issue was dated 26th July 1947, and consisted of ½, 2½, 25, 50, 100, and 250 rupiah notes.

[edit] Republic of Indonesia banknotes, Series 4, '23 August 1948'

New notes were issued by the national government in 1948, in the bizarre denominations of 40, 75, 100, and 400 rupiah, plus an unissued 600 rupiah note.

On 19 December 1948, the Dutch seized Yogyakarta, reverting the head office of the Republic's central bank, Bank Negara Indonesia, back to De Javasche Bank, with DJB offices also reopened in Solo and Kediri.[5]

It was planned in 1949 to revalue the national rupiah notes of the republic (which were at this time circulating in Java). To do this, "Rupiah Baru" ('new rupiah') notes were printed. This revaluation did not take place in Java, but some were issued in Aceh instead. The denominations printed were 10 sen (blue or red), ½ (green or red), 1 (purple or green), 10 (black or brown), 25, and 100 rupiah.

[edit] 1950-1952 Indonesian independence recognised. Central bank: De Javasche Bank

In November 1949, the Dutch-Indonesian Round Table Conference held in The Hague, brokered peace and recognition independence for the Indonesian state. As part of the accord, it was provided that The Netherlands was to retain economic influence over the republic until Indonesia had paid the debt run up by NICA in fighting the war with Indonesia. It was agreed that private Dutch-owned De Javasche Bank was to remain as the central bank of Indonesia, despite resentment among Indonesian nationalists.[6].

[edit] The Sjafruddin cut

The new "Republik Indonesia Serikat" (with Queen Juliana as head of state) decided to address the amount of money circulating (due to the treaty the government was required to accept the NICA gulden as legal tender as well), which had reached 3.9 billion rupiah. A bewildering variety of money was in circulation, including local and national rupiah, Japanese, pre-war, and NICA Dutch monies.

Due to the large amount of currency, the minister of finance, Sjafruddin Prawiranegara, sought to reduce the money supply by one half.[7] This reform was decreed from 19th March 1950. People were to cut all of their notes of 5 gulden and up in half, with the left half to be replaced with new banknotes, and the right half for a government bond with a 3% coupon. In addition, half of all bank deposits over 400 rupiah were also to be forcibly used to buy the government bonds.

As part of the exchange, local and Republik Indonesia money was also demonetized, with all old Republik Indonesia notes no longer valid after May 1 1950. 125 Rp of the first "Republik Indonesia" rupiah (issued in Java) was exchanged for 1 Rp of new DJB notes. Higher exchange rates were in place for local currencies, some of which had been heavily devalued by the over-printing of money by the army. The recently devalued Rupiah Baru of Aceh were exchangeable at 1.75 to 1.

Dutch 'Indonesia' notes of 1947, also printed by Indonesia until it had minted sufficient coinage
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Description			Date of
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	Serial	note	withdrawal
		10 sen	100 × 60 mm	Green	Floral border	Legal text in Indonesian and English	None	1st December 1947	1st January 1957
		25 sen		Brown	Central floral design

[edit] Indonesia De Javasche Bank notes

Due to the agreement to keep DJB as the central bank, the notes that were issued for the devaluation bore its image. It was decided that the existing De Javasche Bank money dated 1946 would simply be revised in colour, with the 5 gulden note changing to brown, 10 gulden to green, and 25 gulden to green. In addition, 50 gulden, 100 gulden, 500 gulden, and 1000 gulden notes were added, still dated 1946.

Because the existing low-denomination notes (which remained as legal tender) bore the imprint of the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration DJB notes of 1/2 rupiah, 1 rupiah, and 2 1/2 rupiah were added, dated 1948. The notes in wording were similar to the 1946 notes, but the Indonesian text ('roepiah') placed above Dutch ('gulden').

The notes were all printed by Johan Enschede en Zonen, the Dutch printer which had prepared the earlier 1946 notes.

1950 De Javasche Bank notes
Image		Series	Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Description			date of
Obverse	Reverse	Series	Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Obverse	Reverse	Serial	issue	withdrawal	replacement note
		"1946"	5rp	150 × 75 mm	Green and red	Coconut trees at sea shore	Legal text in Dutch, Indonesian, Tamil, and Chinese; Letters DJB	six numbers and either two or three letters	19th March 1950	13th December 1965	2nd June 1950
			10rp		Green	Mangosteen					2nd June 1950
			25rp		Green	Coconut trees at sea shore					18th June 1954
			50rp		Black	Sailboat					13th August 1954
			100rp		Brown	Paddy field					18th December 1953
			500rp		Red			six numbers and two letters		24th August 1959	18th December 1953
			1000rp		Grey			six numbers and two letters		5th March 1959	2nd November 1954
		"1948"	1/2 rp	124 × 64 mm	Pink	Moon Orchid	Legal text in Dutch and Indonesian; letters DJB	Letter 'A' (two sizes), or 'AA', written fractionally over two numbers, followed by six numbers		1st December 1957	Last of denomination
			1 rp		Blue	Coconut trees		Letter 'B' (three sizes), or 'BB', written fractionally over either one or two numbers, followed by six numbers			3rd October 1951
			2 1/2 rp		Red	Jasmine		Letter 'C' (two sizes) over 1 or 2 numbers, followed by six numbers			3rd October 1951
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimetre, a Wikipedia standard for world banknotes. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

[edit] Republik Indonesia Serikat money

The "Republik Indonesia Serikat" passed legislation on June 2nd 1950 to allow it to issue new treasury notes, which were dated 1 January 1950 in 5 and 10 rupiah denominations. This was not long-lasting, as the RIS dissolved on 17 August 1950 (5 years after the original declaration of independence).

The notes were printed by Thomas De La Rue of England and had the date '1 January 1950' printed on the note.

1950 'Republik Indonesia Serikat' Notes
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Description
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	Serial	issue	withdrawal
		5rp	136 × 64 mm	Red	Soekarno	Rice field	"D" over number between 1 and 10, followed by six numbers	2nd June 1950
		10rp		Purple			"E" over number between 1 and 19, followed by six numbers
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimetre, a Wikipedia standard for world banknotes. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

[edit] Nationalisation of De Javasche Bank - transformation to Bank Indonesia

Due to the desire to remove the influence of the DJB, which was dominated by Dutch, and was felt to be unwanted foreign influence on the country, and the inflamed tensions caused by the refusal of the Dutch to transfer the territory of Dutch New Guinea to the Republic, the government moved to nationalize the Dutch bank. This action, announced on 30 April 1951, involved the repeal of the old Java Bank Law of 1922, preventing non-Dutch citizens from owning shares in the bank, and negotiations with the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. The purchase was agreed at 120% of the value of the bank (which was valued at 9 million Dutch gulden), with Dutch opinion holding that the bank was properly an Indonesian asset, and hence nationalisation was a valid action. The nationalisation was completed on 15 December 1951, with DJB becoming a government institution of Indonesia.

In addition to this act of nationalisation, on 3 October 1951, the republic passed an Emergency Act on valid currency, in order to repeal the Indische Muntwet Act of 1912, which still governed valid currency in Indonesia. The consequence of the new Act was that old Dutch coins would be void for payment,[8] and new coins would be issued with values of 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 sen under the remit of the Indonesian government. All other banknotes were declared only temporarily valid, to be withdrawn from circulation in due course (under the law the government only had issuing power over notes and coins worth less than 5 rupiah). Notes with permanent validity would be government notes of 1 and 2½ rupiah denominations. Thus, 'Republik Indonesia' notes dated 1951 were issued in 1 and 2 1/2 rupiah denominations.

Government Notes: Republik Indonesia, first series (landscapes), 1951, printed by Security Banknote Printing Company (USA)
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Description					date of
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	Serial	Signature	Watermark	Note	issue	withdrawal	replacement note
		1 rupiah	127 × 66 mm	Blue	Beach with palms, rice terrace	Mountain	2 letters, 1 above the other, 6 numbers	Sjafruddin Prawiranegara	None	'1951'
		2 1/2 rupiah		Red	Beach with cliff, palms	Garuda Pancasila
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimetre, a Wikipedia standard for world banknotes. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

[edit] Sen coinage: 1951-1961

The coinage of this period was issued under the authority of the Indonesian government, not the central bank.

The 1 and 5 sen coins had centre holes, similar to the old copper coins of the Dutch, while the other coins were solid. All were aluminium except the 50 sen, which was copper-nickel. All but the 50 sen featured Arabic on one side and Indonesian on the other.

Due to inflation, 1 sen coins were found to be worthless, and only 100,000 were minted, all dated 1952. The 1 sen coin shows rice stalks around the hole, and the words "INDONESIA 1952" "1 Sen" on the obverse and the Arabic text for 'Indonesia' on the reverse written in a circle around the central hole.

The 5 sen coins survived a little longer with coins issued dated 1951 and 1954. The design was the same as the 1-sen coins but on a larger coin.

The 10-sen coin was first minted dated 1951, followed by a 1954 date change. 50 million coins were minted dated 1954. The design for this coin shows the words "INDONESIA" "1951" or "1954" around the outside of the obverse with a central "10 SEN" in a scalloped design. The reverse shows the Garuda Pancasila with Arabic text for 'Indonesia' atop.

A revised coin dated 1957 replaced the Arabic with the word "INDONESIA" and again 50 million coins were minted.

The 25-sen coin was dated 1952, with 250 million coins in total issued. The design was the same as the 10-sen coin but larger, with "25 SEN" replacing "10 SEN" The coin was updated with the Arabic script replaced by Roman script, but no other design changes. 25 million of these revised coins were minted dated 1955, and 100 million dated 1957.

The 50-sen coin had the most designs as it survived the high inflation the longest, with the initial design showing "INDONESIA" 1952 "50 SEN" on the obverse, in the same manner as the 10- and 25-sen coins, and "DIPA NEGARA" with a picture of Diponegoro and Arabic text on the reverse. 100 million 1952 coins were minted.

Variations exist dated 1954 (1.29 million minted) and 1955 (15 million). The 1957 mintage excised the Arabic text as well as varying the picture of Diponegoro. 26 million were minted. For 1958 the coin was debased, with aluminimum replacing copper-nickel. The redesigned coin saw Garuda Pancasila replacing Diponegoro, with a simpler obverse design stating "REPUBLIK INDONESIA 1958" with the central "50 SEN" no longer scalloped. 34 million were minted dated 1958, 100 million dated 1959, and 150 million dated 1961 - the last sen coinage to be issued in Indonesia.

A variation of the 1952 50 sen coin was issued in gold with a official value of 25 rupiah (although no value on the coin). The coin varied from the 50-sen by featuring the logo "BEKERDJA-MENABUNG-MEMBANGUN" and the Garuda emblem instead of the year and denomination.

[edit] 1953-1958: Bank Indonesia born

In order that it could discontinue the issue of the resented 'De Javasche Bank' money, the government completed the Indonesianisation of DJB, with the bank becoming Bank Indonesia on 1 July 1953 via the Principal Act on Bank Indonesia 1953. The bank had responsibility for the issue of banknotes of 5 rupiah and above (as had DJB). A side-effect of this was that the Emergency Act of 1951 was renewed as the Currency Act of 1953, and the 1951 1 and 2½ rupiah government notes were reissued with the signature of the new Minister of Finance dated 1953.

Government Notes: Republik Indonesia, second series (landscapes), 1953, printed by Security Banknote Printing Company (USA)
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Description					date of
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	Serial	Signature	Watermark	Note	issue	withdrawal	replacement note
		1 rupiah	As 1951					Soemitro Djojohadikoesoemo	None (As 1951)	'1953'
		2 1/2 rupiah
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimetre, a Wikipedia standard for world banknotes. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

[edit] 1953-1954: First notes of Bank Indonesia

Notes featuring the name of the new bank ('Bank Indonesia'), had been prepared dated 1952, in denominations of 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 500, and 1000 rupiah, signed by Indra Kasoema as Director, and Sjafruddin Prawiranegara as Governor. The notes began circulating from July 1953 to November 1954 depending on denomination.

1952 Bank Indonesia notes ('culture series')
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Description				date of
Obverse	Reverse	Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Obverse	Reverse	Serial	Printer's mark	issue	withdrawal	replacement note
		5rp	136 × 75 mm	Blue	Ibu Kartini	Floral design, serpents	5' followed by 1, 2, or 3 letters, then 5 numbers	Thomas De La Rue	2nd July 1953	16th January 1961	1st September 1959
		10rp	136 × 75 mm	Brown	Statue of Ken Dedes	Floral design, beasts	2 (Joh. Enschede) or 3 (Joh. Enschede/Perkeba) letters, then six numbers	Joh. Enschede en Zonen/Pertjetakan Kebajoran	2nd July 1953		5th September 1959
		25rp	143 × 83 mm	Blue	Kalpataru	Batik ship		Joh. Enschede en Zonen/Pertjetakan Kebajoran	18th June 1954		5th September 1959
		50rp		Green	Trees/bird	Batik	2 or 3 letters then six numbers	Joh. Enschede en Zonen	13th August 1954		1st August 1959
		100rp		Brown	Lion statue, Diponegoro	2 stylised birds kissing			18th December 1953	15th December 1960	24th June 1958
		500rp	152 × 91 mm	Red/green	Hindu relief	Batik			18th December 1953	21st September 1959	6th January 1959
		1000rp	152 × 91 mm	Green/red	Hindu relief	Wood design	two or three letters, starting W/WW, then six numbers		2nd November 1954	7th August 1958	2nd September 1958
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimetre, a Wikipedia standard for world banknotes. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Despite the new notes, which meant that paper bearing the name of DJB was no longer printed, the DJB notes dated '1946', and in fact circulating since 1950, remained legal tender right up to the 'new rupiah' of 1965 (which invalidated ALL previous money at that point), although some old DJB notes were repealed, as follows:

2 March 1956: 1000 gulden '1946' note dating from 1950 withdrawn, effective 5th March 1959, due to rampant counterfeiting.
22 November 1957: 1 and 2 1/2 rp '1948' DJB notes withdrawn, effective 1 December 1957, because these denominations of notes were the issuing privilege of the Dutch government at the time, and hence the money was deemed never to have been legal.

The few Netherlands Indies government notes (all low denomination) still legal tender were repealed as follows:

1 January 1954: all 'Nederlandsch Indie' government money withdrawn: 1/2, 1, and 2 1/2 gulden notes, all dating from early World War 2, 1940
1 January 1957: 10 sen and 25 sen 'Indonesia' '1947' notes withdrawn (these were also issued by the Republic of Indo