500 Rupiah Lucanus cervus

Indonesia's ongoing fauna series has produced dozens of types since the 1990s, but the stag beetle — native to parts of Sulawesi and the broader Wallacea bioregion — was a deliberate choice to highlight endemic invertebrate species increasingly under pressure from logging and palm oil expansion. Bank Indonesia coordinated the 2016–2017 definitive issues with the national biodiversity documentation program, giving the series a conservation policy dimension beyond mere commemorative intent.

Brass was chosen over the earlier aluminum-bronze alloys partly for improved die retention on the fine sculptural detail the beetle's mandibles required.