2 1/2 Gulden Muntbiljet

The 2½ Gulden denomination was a persistent fixture in Surinamese currency through the mid-twentieth century, but by 1985 it was a relic — small-denomination paper had largely lost its rationale as inflation steadily eroded purchasing power following independence from the Netherlands in 1975. Bradbury Wilkinson, by this point in the final years of operation before its absorption into De La Rue, printed competently but without the elaborate security features the firm was bringing to higher-value commissions elsewhere.

The muntbiljet designation — literally "coin note" — is telling. These were conceived as paper substitutes for coinage, not full banknotes, and were issued under different legal authority than the gulden notes of the Centrale Bank van Suriname.