Catalog
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| Issuer | Japanese Imperial Government (Dai Nippon Teikoku Seifu) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | DAI NIPPON TEIKOKU SEIHU LIMA ROEPIAH SM 府政國帝本日大 (Translation: Imperial Japanese Government Five Roepiah Imperial Japanese Government) |
| Reverse description | Printed in green on plain paper, the reverse centres on an intaglio vignette of a Batak woman from Sumatra in traditional dress and conical hat, bearing a load, set within a rectangular frame against a background of palm trees, mountains, and rice fields. Large guilloche rosettes enclosing the numeral 5 flank the central vignette on either side, while ornate scrollwork borders run the full perimeter of the note. |
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| Comments |
The Japanese occupying administration issued this note for the Netherlands East Indies as part of a parallel currency system designed to displace Dutch colonial money and fund wartime resource extraction — particularly oil, rubber, and tin. The Roepiah denomination name was a deliberate choice, mirroring the familiar Dutch colonial spelling to ease public acceptance of the new paper.
Printed in Japan by the Imperial Printing Bureau and shipped to the occupied territories, the notes were produced in enormous quantities with little concern for monetary discipline. Inflation accelerated sharply by 1944, and this issue was essentially worthless before the Japanese surrender in August 1945.