The first banknotes used in the archipelago that would become Indonesia were those issued by the United East India Company, credit letters of the rijksdaalder dating between 1783 and 1811. Netherlands Indies gulden government credit paper followed in 1815, and from 1827 to 1842[1] and again from 1866 to 1948[2] gulden notes of De Javasche Bank. Lower denominations (below 5 gulden) were issued by the government in 1919–1920 and in 1939–1940 due to wartime metal shortages, but otherwise day-to-day transactions were conducted using coinage.
Gulden notes were issued by "The Japanese Government" during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies from 1942, becoming "roepiah" in 1943.
The first truly Indonesian rupiah notes, however, were issued in 1946, during the war of independence with the Dutch, following the unilateral proclamation of independence by the Indonesians at the end of World War II on 17 August 1945. This money is known as Oeang Republik Indonesia (ORI; oeang being the old spelling of uang ("money")).
Following the negotiated peace treaty in The Hague of 1949, the ORI was withdrawn, and replaced by an internationally recognised Indonesian rupiah.
The Indonesian rupiah has been subject to numerous devaluations, and in 1965 the existing paper was withdrawn and replaced by a new rupiah at the rate of 1,000 to 1.
The first 'Indonesian rupiah' bank notes bore the date of the rupiah's proclamation, 17 October 1945, under the authority of the newly-formed republic, and were put in circulation in Java starting from 10 October 1946. The notes were in denominations of 1 cents, 5 cents, 10 cents, 50 cents, Rp1, Rp5, Rp10, and Rp100.[3]
The second series of money now emanated from 'Djokjakarta', the Republic's base following the 'Police Action' of 21 July 1947, which had confined the Republicans to Yogyakarta and Central Java. The notes were dated 1 January 1947, in denominations of Rp5, Rp10, Rp25, and Rp100.[4]
The next new issue was dated 26 July 1947, and consisted of Rp1⁄2, Rp2+1⁄2, Rp25, Rp50, Rp100, and Rp250 notes.[5]
New notes were issued by the national government in 1948, in the bizarre denominations of Rp40, Rp75, Rp100, and Rp400, plus an unissued Rp600 note.[6]
On 19 December 1948, the Dutch seized Yogyakarta, reverting the head office of the then-Republic's central bank Bank Negara Indonesia back to De Javasche Bank, with DJB offices also reopened in Surakarta and Kediri.[7]
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 Rp0.10 sen (blue or red), Rp1⁄2 (green or red), Rp1 (purple or green), Rp10 (black or brown), Rp25, and Rp100.[8]
In addition to the 'national' (but restricted in practice to the central republican enclave in Java) notes, the republican authorities, instructed regional commanders in areas that the national money couldn't reach to issue their own currency in order to discourage the circulation of Dutch money. These money were to be unified after full independence.
Rp25 note of Banten Residency, 15 December 1947
Rp10 note of "Sumatra Province" (dated 1 January 1948)
Rp500 note of Bengkulu Residency (dated 1 June 1947)
Rp1,000 note of Bengkulu Residency (dated 1 June 1947)
The Dutch treasury had in 1947 issued Indonesian language Rp0.10 and Rp0.25 notes. Due to the initial lack of coinage and due to their relatively republic-friendly design, the Indonesian government saw it as expedient to continue to print these notes, and authorised their issue until such time as coinage had been minted, and in sufficient quantity to replace them.
The peace settlement with the Dutch, negotiated in The Hague in November 1949, had kept De Javasche Bank as the central bank in Indonesia, hence the first notes that were issued for the post-independence rupiah bore its imprint. It was decided that the existing De Javasche Bank money dated 1946 would simply be revised in colour, with the 5 gulden note changing from purple to red and green, the 10 gulden from green to purple, and 25 gulden from red to green. In addition, 50 gulden, 100 gulden, 500 gulden, and 1,000 gulden notes were added, still dated 1946.
Because there were existing Rp0.10 and Rp0.25 notes (which remained as legal tender and continued to be printed), a gap existed between the Rp0.25 Indonesia and 5 gulden De Javasche Bank notes. This was filled with Rp1⁄2, Rp1, and Rp2+1⁄2 notes, all dated 1948.[9] The notes in wording were similar to the notes of 5 gulden and up, but the Indonesian text ('roepiah') placed above Dutch ('gulden').
The notes were all printed by Johan Enschede en Zonen based in the Netherlands.
The RIS government passed legislation on 2 June 1950 to allow it to issue new treasury notes, which were printed by Thomas De La Rue and dated 1 January 1950 in denominations of Rp5 and Rp10.[8] This move was not long-lasting, as the federation dissolved on 17 August 1950.
With the nationalisation of De Javasche Bank via the Emergency Act of 1951 which was strengthened by Currency Act of 1953, it was decreed that the government would be able to issue notes valued Rp1 and Rp2½. Thus, 'Republik Indonesia' notes dated 1951 and 1953 were issued in Rp1 and Rp2½ denominations; these were signed by Sjafruddin Prawiranegara in 1951 and Soemitro Djojohadikoesoemo in 1953.
Notes featuring the new name of the nationalised De Javasche Bank, Bank Indonesia, were prepared dated 1952, in denominations of Rp5, Rp10, Rp25, Rp50, Rp100, Rp500, and Rp1,000, signed by Indra Kasoema as Director, and Sjafruddin Prawiranegara as Governor. The notes began circulating from July 1953 to November 1954 depending on denomination.
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:
The few Netherlands Indies government notes (all low denomination) still legal tender were repealed as follows:
In 1954, Rp1 and Rp2½ notes issued by the Indonesian government were redesigned, which were re-dated with the new Minister of Finance's signature in 1956.
In 1957, governor of Bank Indonesia Sjafruddin Prawiranegara commissioned a new series of notes from Thomas De La Rue. However, Sjafruddin's involvement with PRRI meant that he was replaced in January 1958 as governor by Loekman Hakim. Specimens were produced in denominations of Rp5, Rp10, Rp25, Rp50, Rp100, Rp500, Rp1,000, and Rp5,000, and the first of these to be brought into circulation were the Rp100 and Rp1,000 notes in 1958 due to the counterfeiting of these denominations of the 1952 series (it can be distinguished by the wavy line watermark being printed onto the paper rather than a true watermark).
In addition to the 8 notes designed, Loekman commissioned a new Rp2,500 note. Apart from the Rp100 and Rp1,000 notes, the remaining high denomination note, the Rp500, was released on 6 January 1959.
Issuance of the notes was interrupted by a devaluation of 24 August 1959, with Rp500 (tiger) and Rp1,000 (elephant) notes devalued to Rp50 (crocodile) and Rp100 (squirrel) in September 1959. The Rp2,500 and Rp5,000 notes were deemed unnecessary as a result, although continued high inflation caused the former denomination to be issued three years later, while the latter was never issued. The Rp10 and Rp25 notes were only circulated for 3 days although they remained legal tender, and are today extremely rare.
8 September 1959 brought the first purely Indonesian-designed notes, issued by the state printer Pertjetakan Kebajoran. Notes issued are worth Rp5 through Rp100 (see full "handicrafts" section below for full details).
Another series of notes, the 'flowers' series, was issued by Bank Indonesia in 1960 (showing flowers on the obverse and birds on the reverse), and dated 1 January 1959, but issued in 1960. These notes were printed by Thomas De La Rue.
Due to inflation, the TDLR Rp2,500 note of "animals" design was last issued in September 1962, becoming then the top denomination.
A new design for the Rp1 and Rp2½ government notes was issued in 1960 showing agricultural workers on its obverse and its results on its reverse. Notes dated 1960 were signed by Finance Minister Ir. Djuanda Kartawidjaja while notes dated 1961 were signed by Finance Minister Raden Murobikandi Notohamiprojo.
The Bank Indonesia-printed handicrafts series replaced the TDLR notes in 1961 and 1962, with denominations from Rp5 to Rp1,000 being issued. The first Rp10,000 banknote was introduced in 1964. A further response to inflation came with the issue of a 1958-dated Rp5,000 (brown) note in October 1963. By August 1964, it was necessary to add a Rp10,000 note, the first of its kind, and dated "1964," completing the manual workers series.
In 1965, amid soaring inflation, all of the notes, with the exception of the bottom Rp5 and the Rp500 note of the handicrafts series, were revised and re-issued, some more than once.
The hyperinflation of the early 1960s made the government redenominate the rupiah for the first time, with one new rupiah worth 1,000 of the old. Such move meant the issue of an entirely new set of banknotes by the Presidential Decree of 13 December 1965 which authorised Bank Indonesia to issue fractional notes for the first time (although the Rp1 and Rp2½ notes were still issued by the government itself) in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 cents depicting volunteers (sukarelawan), all of which are dated 1964; these fractional notes, except for the one cent, were demonetised on 15 November 1996 and remain exchangeable in Bank Indonesia until 2029. Continued inflation throughout 1965 and 1966, with rates up to more than 650%,[10][11] rendered them worthless upon issue. Meanwhile, notes of Rp1 and higher featured President Sukarno on their obverses and various dancers on their reverses, with the 1964-dated Rp1 and Rp2½ banknotes being issued by Republik Indonesia and the 1960-dated Rp5, Rp10, Rp25, Rp50, and Rp100 notes being issued by Bank Indonesia. (1960-dated Bank Indonesia notes of Rp5, Rp10, and Rp100 rupiah were already circulating in Irian Jaya and the Riau Islands along with 1961-dated Republik Indonesia notes of Rp1 and Rp2½ in those same places).
To complete the redenomination process, older notes with values from Rp500 through Rp10,000 were withdrawn throughout 1965 and 1966.
By 1967, it had proved necessary to add Rp500 and Rp1,000 rupiah notes in the same design due to that year's 112% inflation rate.[11]
By 1968, after President Suharto's New Order had been established, Bank Indonesia was given the sole right to issue banknotes (including notes below 5 rupiah) as well as coins (which had previously been the issue of the central government).[12]
As such, Bank Indonesia assumed responsibility for the issuance of all denominations of the 1968 series of the rupiah, with all notes being printed by Pertjetakan Kebajoran with the imprint date of 1968 with values ranging from Rp1 to Rp1,000. The notes featured the revolutionary hero General Sudirman on all of their obverses, while their reverse depicts various scenes of industrial activities. The notes were issued in 1968 and 1969. In 1970, notes of the same theme (but a different watermark) were added in Rp5,000 and Rp10,000 denominations, thus restoring all notes to the same denominations prior to the 1965 redenomination.
A new series of notes, which now started only at Rp100 (then US$0.24), was designed with a Diponegoro theme in 1971 (but undated); however, this series was never issued, although the Rp1,000 note, with date added, was issued in 1976 (see below), and the reverse of the Rp5,000 note was also used for the 1976 Rp5,000 note, but with a new obverse design. If issued, this aborted note series was the last in Indonesia to have a consistent theme, although new notes typically retained the same colour as old ones of the same denomination. As of 2024, this is the most recent rupiah series to be completely unissued.
Starting in 1975, Perum Peruri took over the responsibility for printing rupiah notes from Pertjetakan Kebajoran.
Due to counterfeiting of the Sudirman notes, the Rp1,000, Rp5,000 and Rp10,000 notes were all re-designed, dated 1975, and issued in 1976. The Sudirman notes of Rp1,000 and above were withdrawn as legal tender as of 1 September 1977.[13]
Redesigns of the Rp100 and Rp500 notes followed in 1978, thereby completing the third series of notes to be issued since the 1965 devaluation.
The first note to be replaced was again the top 10,000 rupiah note (by then worth approximately US$16), in 1979. Further redesigned notes followed in all denominations except the 100 rupiah, in 1980 and 1982.
The Rp100 note was replaced in 1984 with a new design featuring the Goura victoria on its obverse and the Sigura-gura dam in Asahan, North Sumatera, on its reverse with the national coat of arms as its watermark; replacement notes of all denominations followed in 1985 (Rp10,000), 1986 (Rp5,000), 1987 (Rp1,000) and 1988 (Rp500). All notes of this series were updated on 28 December 1992 and were subsequently demonetised on 25 September 1995.
On 28 December 1992, Bank Indonesia completely overhauled of all denominations of notes for the first time since 1968. In addition, a new top denomination, Rp20,000 note was added, with a US$ value of approximately $10 at the time. This was the first new denomination of the 'new rupiah' since the Rp10,000 had been issued in April 1970 (then worth about US$26). From this issue forwards, Indonesian notes have carried in small text in the note border the year of printing; the most conspicuous date on the note is still the date of authority (e.g., "Direksi 1992").
In 1993 a new top denomination, Rp50,000 (approx US$22), celebrating "25 Years of Development" was issued. The design featured Suharto on the front and Soekarno-Hatta airport on the back, with a plane taking off to symbolise Indonesia's growth. It also featured a hologram with the BI's logo as an added security feature. The notes (regular) were printed in 1993 and 1994. A polymer version intended as collectables were also issued (see Commemorative banknotes).[17][18]
In 1995, a segmented security thread was introduced to the Rp20,000 and Rp50,000 notes as an anti-counterfeiting measure, the first ever for the rupiah. Such notes were imprinted as 'Direksi 1995.'
All notes of this series were demonetised on 21 August 2000, except for the Rp100 and Rp500, which were demonetised on 30 November 2006.
In 1998, during the final months of the New Order, the Rp10,000 and Rp20,000 notes were redesigned on 23 January and 19 February 1998 respectively, while the Rp50,000 note were redesigned on 1 June 1999, the first during the reformation. The new Rp10,000 and Rp20,000 notes now feature a hologram as an added security feature.
Then-Senior Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia Mirza Adityaswara's prediction of an increase of demand in cash to anticipate the Year 2000 problem led to the introduction of a new polymer Rp100,000 note on 1 November 1999, with five hundred million notes (totalling Rp500 billion) of this denomination being ordered from Note Printing Australia.[21]
All notes of this series are no longer legal tender since 31 December 2008 and were exchangeable at commercial banks until 30 December 2013[22] and at Bank Indonesia offices until 30 December 2018.[23]
The lower denominations, Rp1,000 and Rp5,000, were updated in 2000 and 2001. While the Rp5,000 note is still being printed, the Rp1,000 note was last issued dated 2013 (a limited number of notes dated 2016 were issued later) and, while remaining in circulation, has largely been replaced by a coin of the same value.
The Rp20,000 and Rp100,000 notes were redesigned on 29 December 2004,[26] while the Rp10,000 and Rp50,000 notes were redesigned on 19 September 2005.[27] The Rp100,000 note's material was switched to paper as bank machines have difficulty counting the polymer notes of 1999. All the notes were given better security features, including a segmented security thread and colour-shifting ink, with the Rp100,000 note also given an Irisafe technology to its right which was removed in 2011.
A new denomination, Rp2,000, was issued on 9 July 2009 after several delays following an initial announcement that said note would replace the Rp1,000 note as the lowest note in circulation.[28] However, the latter continued to be printed, most recently in 2022.
On 20 July 2010, the 2005-issue Rp10,000 note was revised, featuring the same theme but with a colour change to purple in order to better distinguish it from the Rp100,000 note. Several changes were also made to the note's security features and devices, including the addition of omron rings and a circle-shaped blind code.[29][30] The following year, in commemoration of that year's Youth Pledge Day on 28 October 2011, Bank Indonesia updated the Rp20,000, Rp50,000, and Rp100,000 banknotes to feature enhanced security features including rainbow printing, omron rings and new blind codes.[31][32]
Bank Indonesia further updated the Rp100,000 note on 17 August 2014 to deter counterfeiting.[33][34] These banknotes, which bear the text "Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia" ("The Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia") instead of "Bank Indonesia," still retain the images of the same national figures but have more golden colours and carry an imprint of TE. (abbreviation of "Tahun Emisi", Issue Year) 2014 and the signatures of the then-BI governor Agus Martowardojo and the then-Indonesian Finance Minister Chatib Basri.
That same year, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has officially appointed Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta as obverse of Rp100,000 banknotes, following the issuance of Presidential Decree No. 22 of 2 June 2014.[35][36]
On 19 December 2016, Bank Indonesia completely redesigned all rupiah banknotes in the denominations of Rp1,000, Rp2,000, Rp5,000, Rp10,000, Rp20,000, Rp50,000 and Rp100,000. This series features various national heroes from Indonesia's history.[51] In 2022, Bank Indonesia predicted that notes of this series will be removed from circulation in 2025 or 2026.[52]
Bank Indonesia introduced a new series of banknotes on 18 August 2022. Officially, they were retroactively issued as legal tender on 17 August 2022 to commemorate Indonesia's 77th year of independence. Similar to the 2016 series, the Indonesian dances and national heroes are still featured on the notes, with some notable changes to their colour scheme, security features and sizes.[56][57]
In 1993, a polymer Rp50,000 rupiah (approximately US$22) note, the first in Indonesia, was issued to celebrate "25 Years of Development" under the New Order. It had a hologram of then-President Suharto and the phrase "Penerbitan Khusus" (Special Issue). Only five million notes are printed and each were packed in a presentation pack explaining the 25-year growth plan since 1969. These notes were priced at Rp100,000 upon release, which was double the face value. The design featured Suharto on the front and Soekarno-Hatta airport on the back, with a plane taking off to symbolise Indonesia's growth. However, it is believed that due to poor sales, some of the polymer notes, minus the folder, were issued as regularly circulating money. A paper version (regular note) of similar design was printed from 1993 through 1998.[18]
On 17 August 2020, Bank Indonesia officially introduced a new commemorative banknote to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Indonesia's declaration of independence. With a total of 75 million notes being printed, it was the first commemorative banknote to commemorate Indonesia's independence; before that, it was only issued in coins. They were made available to Indonesian citizens over the age of 17, who could purchase a maximum of one banknote by registering online and collecting it at one of the 45 regional Bank Indonesia branches. Due to the high demand, banknotes were subsequently offered for sale online for prices up to Rp8.8 million, more than 117 times its face value. Following rumors that the notes were only merchandise, and not legal tender, the central bank confirmed they could be used for payment transactions. The design of the note also attracted attention, and Bank Indonesia was obliged to deny that one of the children pictured on the back was wearing a traditional costume from China.[58][59][60][61][62][63]
Until 1998, rupiah banknotes featured an anti-counterfeit warning which evolved throughout the years:
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