Catalog
| Issuer | Republik Indonesia - Propinsi Sumatera Timur (Province of East Sumatra), Bukittinggi |
|---|---|
| Year | 1948 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 Rupiah |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Uniform green print dominated by guilloche-patterned borders and large numerals '5' in each corner. A central text panel carries a legal declaration in Indonesian script authorising the note as valid currency under Presidential Decree No. 1 of 1946, surrounded by wavy underprint lines. The inscription 'SOMATERA TIMUR' appears in a panel along the lower margin. |
| Reverse lettering | Tanda pembajaran ini ditetapkan sah sebagai "Uang kertas" seperti tersebut dalam pasal IX sampai XIII dari undang-undang Presiden No.1 Th.1946 tentang peraturan hukum Pidana SOMATERA TIMUR |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Propinsi Sumatera Timur emergency issues of 1947–1948 were a direct response to the Dutch military offensives — the first "Politionele Actie" of July 1947 had severed the Republic's access to key revenue streams and disrupted central government financing out of Yogyakarta. Provincial authorities were authorized to issue their own currency as a stopgap, a practical necessity rather than any deliberate monetary decentralization.
Printed locally under wartime conditions, production quality across the Bukittinggi regional series is predictably inconsistent. Paper stock varies between surviving examples, and ink registration is often imprecise — features of the circumstances, not errors of intent.