Catalog
2 1/2 Roepiah/Gulden
| Issuer | De Javasche Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1948 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Printed in rose-red on a light ground, the obverse carries a vignette of a flowering branch at the left margin, rendered in intaglio with fine botanical detail. At centre and right, the bilingual denomination 'DOEA ROEPIAH SETENGAH / TWEE EN EEN HALVE GULDEN' is set in bold letterpress type, with the numeral '2½' within a large guilloche rosette at the right. The bank title 'DE JAVASCHE BANK' runs across the top, with the serial number and date 1948 at lower left and lower right respectively, and two facsimile signatures for the Secretary and President below centre. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | De Javasche Bank Membajar Kepada Pembawa Doea Roepiah Setengah Betaalt aan Toonder Twee en Een Halve Gulden (Translation: The Java Bank Will pay to the bearer Two and a Half Roepiah Two and a Half Gulden) |
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| Comments |
De Javasche Bank issued this note during one of the most turbulent stretches in Indonesian monetary history. The Dutch were fighting to reassert control over the archipelago following the 1945 proclamation of independence, and multiple currencies — Republican, Japanese occupation scrip, and Dutch colonial issues — circulated simultaneously in contested regions. A 2½-denomination made sense within the Dutch decimal-gulden tradition but was increasingly anachronistic against the political reality on the ground.
The bank's authority to issue currency in Indonesia was formally terminated in 1953 when Bank Indonesia absorbed its functions. Notes of this series saw sharply curtailed circulation in Republican-held territory.