10 Sen

Indonesia's aluminum minor coinage of the mid-1950s was produced as the young republic struggled to establish a stable monetary infrastructure following independence from the Netherlands in 1945. The 10 Sen issued under Bank Indonesia in 1957 came during a period of significant political turbulence — Sukarno's government was already moving toward Guided Democracy, proclaimed formally in 1959, and regional rebellions in Sumatra and Sulawesi were actively undermining central authority. Aluminum was chosen partly for cost, partly because domestic metal supply chains remained underdeveloped.

KM#12 was struck at the Dutch Royal Mint (Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt) in Utrecht — a quietly ironic arrangement for a post-colonial nation.