Catalog
2 1/2 Gulden Treasury Note
| Issuer | Government of Netherlands East Indies |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | NEDERLANDSCH-INDIE MUNTBILJET Groot TWEE EN EEN HALVE GULDEN Wordt in betaling hangenomen door De Javasche Bank en aan alle landskassen inwisselbaar in zilver na aankondiging. Geregistreerd: Batavia, 1 Mei 1920. (Translation: Netherlands Indies Coin Note Two and a Half Gulden Will be collected for payment by De Javasche Bank and can be exchanged for silver at all national treasuries after announcement. Registered: Batavia, May 1, 1920.) |
| Reverse description | Brown on beige underprint, with an overall guilloche pattern framing an oval panel at center. The denomination "TWEE EN EEN HALVE GULDEN" appears along the lower margin, the value numerals "2.50" are repeated in each corner, and the vertical side panels carry the legend "WETTIG BETAALMIDDEL". The central oval contains the anti-counterfeiting penal code text in Dutch. |
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| Comments |
The 2½ Gulden denomination has an oddly persistent place in Dutch colonial finance — the fractional value was genuinely useful in a circulation environment where coin shortages were chronic and small-denomination paper filled the gap left by hoarded silver. This particular note was issued by the government treasury rather than the Javasche Bank, a meaningful distinction: it reflects the colonial administration's direct intervention in everyday liquidity rather than a central banking decision.
De Bussy was primarily an Amsterdam publishing and printing house, not a specialist security printer — an unusual choice for fiduciary paper, though not without precedent in this series.