Catalog
1/2 Gulden/Roepiah
| Issuer | De Javasche Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1948 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/2 Gulden |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Lilac intaglio print on a pale green guilloche underprint. The left panel carries a finely engraved vignette of the Moon Orchid (Phalaenopsis amabilis), while the denomination numeral '1/2' is set within a large guilloche medallion to the right, with the date 1948 at lower right. Two manuscript signatures appear beneath the central bilingual text block, captioned SECRETARIS and PRESIDENT respectively. |
|---|---|
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| Protection description | No watermark |
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| Comments |
De Javasche Bank's half-gulden fractional was issued during one of the most legally ambiguous periods in Indonesian monetary history — the Dutch were still asserting administrative authority over Java while the Republic of Indonesia, declared in 1945, maintained its own parallel currency. Notes denominated in gulden and simultaneously in roepiah reflected that unresolved duality, the dual designation a pragmatic hedge rather than a settled policy decision.
Thomas De La Rue printed this in London, well away from the instability on the ground. The Republic of the United States of Indonesia formally absorbed De Javasche Bank's functions by 1953, making this series short-lived by design.