Banknotes of the rupiah


The first paper money used in the Indonesian archipelago was that of the United East Indies Company, credit letters of the rijksdaalder dating between 1783 and 1811. Netherlands Indian gulden government credit paper followed in 1815, and from 1827 to 1842 and again from 1866 to 1948 gulden notes of De Javasche Bank. Lower denominations were issued by the government in 1919–1920 and 1939–1940, due to wartime metal shortages, but otherwise day-to-day transactions were conducted using coinage.
Gulden notes were issued by 'The Japanese Government' during the occupation from 1942, becoming 'roepiah' in 1943.
The first truly Indonesian rupiah notes, however were issued in 1946, during the war of independence with the Dutch, following the unilateral declaration of independence by the Indonesians at the end of World War Two on 17 August 1945. This money is known as 'Oeang Republik Indonesia'.
Following the negotiated peace treaty in The Hague of 1949, the 'ORI' was withdrawn, to be replaced by an internationally recognised 'Indonesian rupiah'.
The Indonesian rupiah has been subject to numerous devaluations, and in 1965 existing paper was withdrawn, replaced by a new currency at the rate of 1000 to 1.

Money around independence year

Series 1, '1945'

The first 'Indonesian rupiah' bank notes bore the date of the proclamation on new Indonesian money, 17 October 1945, under the authority of the "Republik Indonesia", and were apparently intended for issue on 1 February 1946, but due to the capture of most of the notes, only a tiny number escaped at this time.
The circulation began in earnest in Java from 10 October 1946. The notes were in denominations of 1, 5, and 10 sen notes, plus ½, 1, 5, 10, and 100 rupiah notes.

Series 2, '1 January 1947'

The second series of money now emanated from 'Djokjakarta', the Republic's base following the 'Police Action' of 21 July 1947, which had confined the Republicans to Yogyakarta and Central Java. The notes were dated 1 January 1947, in denominations of 5, 10, 25, and 100 rupiah.


NoteValue
5 rupiah
10 rupiah
25 rupiah
100 rupiah

Series 3, '26 July 1947'

The next new issue was dated 26 July 1947, and consisted of ½, 2½, 25, 50, 100, and 250 rupiah notes.

Series 4, '23 August 1948'

New notes were issued by the national government in 1948, in the bizarre denominations of 40, 75, 100, and 400 rupiah, plus an unissued 600 rupiah note.
On 19 December 1948, the Dutch seized Yogyakarta, reverting the head office of the then-Republic's central bank Bank Negara Indonesia back to De Javasche Bank, with DJB offices also reopened in Surakarta and Kediri.
It was planned in 1949 to revalue the national rupiah notes of the republic. To do this, "rupiah baru" notes were printed. This revaluation did not take place in Java, but some were issued in Aceh instead. The denominations printed were 10 sen, ½, 1, 10, 25, and 100 rupiah.

Regional Issues

In addition to the 'national' notes, the republican authorities, to discourage the circulation of Dutch money, instructed regional commanders in areas that the national money couldn't reach, to issue their own money, to be unified after full independence.

Java

The notes issued in Java generally featured text, a signature, and a serial number, all issued on low-grade paper without modern security features such as watermarks, and demonstrated few similarities between areas. Only in a few areas did the notes have any pictures on them.
As with the Java notes, the Sumatran notes are all primitive lacking security feature printed on poor-quality paper. In most cases they have some kind of artwork.
The following notes are known to have been printed::
The following notes were all issued by the 'Governor of Sumatra' in Bukittinggi:

1950–1952: Gulden/roepiah notes

Low denomination notes

The Dutch treasury had in 1947 issued Indonesian language 10 sen and 25 sen notes. Due to the initial lack of coinage and due to their relatively republic-friendly design, the Indonesian government saw it as expedient to continue to print these notes, and authorised their issue until such time as coinage had been minted, and in sufficient quantity to replace them.

De Javasche Bank notes

The peace settlement with the Dutch, negotiated in The Hague in November 1949, had kept De Javasche Bank as the central bank in Indonesia, hence the first notes that were issued for the post-independence rupiah bore its imprint. It was decided that the existing De Javasche Bank money dated 1946 would simply be revised in colour, with the 5 gulden note changing from purple to red and green, the 10 gulden from green to purple, and 25 gulden from red to green. In addition, 50 gulden, 100 gulden, 500 gulden, and 1000 gulden notes were added, still dated 1946.
Because there were existing 10 and 25 sen notes, a gap existed between the 25 sen Indonesia and 5 gulden De Javasche Bank notes. This was filled with notes of 1/2 rupiah, 1 rupiah, and 2½ rupiah, all dated 1948. The notes in wording were similar to the notes of 5 gulden and up, but the Indonesian text placed above Dutch.
The notes were all printed by Johan Enschede en Zonen, the Dutch printer.

Republik Indonesia Serikat money

The "Republik Indonesia Serikat" passed legislation on 2 June 1950 to allow it to issue new treasury notes, which were dated 1 January 1950 in denominations of 5 and 10 rupiah. This was not long-lasting, as the RIS dissolved on 17 August 1950.
The notes were printed by Thomas De La Rue of England and had the date '1 January 1950' printed on the note.

Nationalisation of De Javasche Bank: first Republik Indonesia banknotes

With the nationalisation of De Javasche Bank via the Emergency Act of 1951, it was decreed that the government would be able to issue notes of 1 and 2½ rupiah denominations. Thus, 'Republik Indonesia' notes dated 1951 were issued in 1 and 2½ rupiah denominations.

Formation of Bank Indonesia from De Javasche Bank: second Republik Indonesia banknotes

The transformation from DJB to Bank Indonesia occurred after the Emergency Act of 1951 was renewed as the Currency Act of 1953, and the 1951-issue 1 and 2½ rupiah government notes were reissued with the signature of the new Minister of Finance dated 1953.

1953–1954: First notes of Bank Indonesia

Notes featuring the new name of the nationalised De Javasche bank – 'Bank Indonesia' – were prepared dated 1952, in denominations of 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 500, and 1000 rupiah, signed by Indra Kasoema as Director, and Sjafruddin Prawiranegara as Governor. The notes began circulating from July 1953 to November 1954 depending on denomination.
Despite the new notes, which meant that paper bearing the name of DJB was no longer printed, the DJB notes dated '1946', and in fact circulating since 1950, remained legal tender right up to the 'new rupiah' of 1965, although some old DJB notes were repealed, as follows:
The few Netherlands Indies government notes still legal tender were repealed as follows:
1954 brought a redesign of the Indonesian government 1 and 2½ rupiah notes, which were re-dated with the new Minister of Finance's signature in 1956.

1958–1959 Animals series – Second Series of Banknotes of Bank Indonesia

In 1957, governor of Bank Indonesia Sjafruddin Prawiranegara commissioned a new series of notes from English printer, Thomas De La Rue & Co. However, Syafruddin's involvement with PRRI meant that he was replaced in January 1958 as governor by Loekman Hakim. Specimens were produced in denominations of 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 500, 1000, and 5000 rupiah, and the first of these to be brought into circulation were the 100 and 1000 rupiah notes, in 1958, due to the counterfeiting of these denominations of the 1952 series.
The issue of the notes was interrupted somewhat by a devaluation of 24 August 1959, with 500 and 1000 rupiah notes devalued to 50 and 100 rupiah in September 1959. The 2500 and 5000 rupiah notes were deemed unnecessary thanks to the devaluation. The 2500 rupiah note was eventually issued three years later due to continued high inflation, while the 5000 rupiah was never issued. The 10 and 25 rupiah notes were only circulated for 3 days, although they remained legal tender, and are today extremely rare.
In addition to the 8 notes designed, Loekman commissioned a new note, of 2500 rupiah. Apart from the 100 and 1000 rupiah notes, the remaining high denomination note, the 500 rupiah, was released on 6 January 1959.

1959: First Indonesian-designed notes, the 'handicrafts' series

8 September 1959 brought the first purely Indonesian-designed notes, issued by state printers Pertjetakan Kebajoran, of 5 and 100 rupiah notes.

1960: Thomas De La Rue flowers and birds banknotes

Yet another series of notes, the 'flowers' series was issued by Bank Indonesia in 1960, and dated 1 January 1959, but issued in 1960. These notes were printed by Thomas De La Rue & Co. Ltd., England.

1960–1961: Government banknotes

A new design for the 1 and 2½ rupiah government notes was issued in 1960 showing agricultural workers, also re-dated with the new Minister of Finance's signature 1961.

1961–1964: Complete handicrafts series

The Indonesian-printed handicrafts series replaced the TDLR notes in 1961 and 1962, with all denominations 5 to 1000 rupiah in issue. Introducing the first 10,000 rupiah banknote in 1964
Due to inflation, the TDLR 2500 rupiah note of 'animals' design was finally issued in September 1962, becoming then the top denomation. A further response to inflation came with the issue of a 1958-dated 5000 rupiah note in October 1963. By August 1964, it was necessary to add a 10,000 rupiah note, and dated '1964', completing the manual workers series.

1965: Updates to the crafts notes

In 1965, amid soaring inflation, all of the notes, with the exception of the bottom 5 rupiah and the 500 rupiah note of the handicrafts series were revised and re-issued, some more than once.

1965–1968: First series of banknotes ('Sukarno') of the 'new rupiah'

The hyperinflation of the early 1960s resulted in the pronouncement of the 'new rupiah' supposedly worth 1,000 of the old rupiah.
The withdrawal of the old money meant the issue of an entirely new set of banknotes, by Presidential decree of 13 December 1965. The decree authorised Bank Indonesia to issue fractional notes for the first time, in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 sen showing 'Volunteers', dated 1964. Due to the fact that the rupiah was only devalued about 10, rather than 1000 times, they were worthless on issue, and many millions of notes never entered circulation.
The remaining notes all featured President Sukarno on the obverse, and various dancers on the reverse; this series was issued by 'Republik Indonesia' in 1 and 2½ rupiah, dated 1964, and Bank Indonesia dated 1960, in 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 rupiah were issued ; the notes from 500 to 10,000 rupiah were deemed unnecessary due to the devaluation.
To complete the devaluation, older notes were withdrawn over 1965–1966.
By 1967, due to the limited nature of the devaluation, it had proved necessary to add 500 and 1,000 rupiah notes, in the same design.

1968–1970: Second series of banknotes ('Sudirman') of the 'new rupiah'

By 1968 the Suharto New Order had been established, and Bank Indonesia, as of 1968 was given sole right to issue banknotes as well as coins.
Hence, the new issue of banknotes 1 to 1,000rp, dated 1968, were all emanating from Bank Indonesia. The notes featured the revolutionary hero General Sudirman, backed by various scenes of industry. The notes were issued in 1968 and 1969. In 1970, notes of the same theme were added in 5,000 and 10,000 rupiah denominations, thus restoring notes to the same denominations that had been circulating prior the 1965 devaluation

Diponegoro series (unissued)

A new series of notes, which now started only at 100 rupiah, was designed with a Diponegoro theme in 1971 ; however, this series was never issued, although the 1000 rupiah note, with date added, was issued in 1976, and the reverse of the 5000 rupiah was also used for the 1976 5000 rupiah, but with a new obverse design.
This aborted note series was the last in Indonesia to have a consistent theme, although new notes typically retained the same colour as old ones of the same denomination.

1976–1978: Banknote series 3 of the new rupiah

Due to counterfeiting of the Sudirman notes, the 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 rupiah notes were all re-designed, dated 1975, and issued in 1976. The Sudirman notes of 1000 rupiah and above were withdrawn as legal tender as of 1 September 1977.
Redesigns of the 100 and 500 rupiah notes followed in 1978, thereby completing the third series of notes to be issued since the 1965 devaluation.

1979–1982: Banknote Series 4 of the new rupiah

The first note to be replaced was again the top 10,000 rupiah note, in 1979. Further redesigned notes followed in all denominations except the 100 rupiah, in 1980 and 1982.

1985–1988: Banknote series 5 of the new rupiah

The 100 rupiah note dating from 1977 was finally replaced in 1985; replacement notes of all denominations followed in 1985, 1987 and 1988.

1992: series six banknotes of the new rupiah

28 December 1992 saw a complete overhaul of all denominations of notes for the first time since 1968. In addition, a new top denomation, 20,000 rupiah note was added, with a US$ value of approximately $10 at the time. This was the first new denomination of the 'new rupiah' since the 10,000 rupiah had been issued in April 1970. From this issue forwards, Indonesian notes have carried in small text in the note border the year of printing; the most conspicuous date on the note is still the date of authority.

1993: Suharto commemorative 50,000 rupiah

In 1993 a 50,000 rupiah note celebrating "25 Years of Development" in polymer with hologram, limited to five million, and in a presentation pack explaining the 25-year growth plan since 1969 were printed, priced at double face value: 100,000 rupiah. The design featured Suharto on the front and Soekarno-Hatta airport on the back, with a plane taking off to symbolise Indonesia's growth. However, it is believed that due to poor sales, that some of the polymer notes, minus the folder, were issued as regularly circulating money. A paper version of similar design was printed in 1993 and 1994.

1995: addition of security thread to top 1992/1993 banknotes

1995 saw the introduction of the security thread to Indonesian banknotes, a feature on all large notes of 'Direksi 1995' and newer. The 1992 20,000 rupiah, and 1993 paper 50,000 notes were the affected notes.

Updates to high denominations; introduction of 100,000 rupiah note

The high denomination notes, 10,000, 20,000 and 50,000 rupiah were replaced in 1998 and 1999. A new polymer 100,000 rupiah note was also added, imported from Australia. These notes, which were no longer printed following the introduction of new designs in 2004–2005, are no longer legal tender since 31 December 2008, although they remained exchangeable at Bank Indonesia offices until 31 December 2018.

Current series

Low denomination notes, 2000 and 2001

The lower denominations, 1,000 and 5,000 rupiah were updated in 2000 and 2001. While the 5,000 rupiah note is still being printed, the 1,000 rupiah note was last issued dated 2013 and, while remaining in circulation, has largely been replaced by a coin of the same value. The previous lowest denominations, 100 and 500 rupiah, no longer exist, since the rupiah had fallen in value by 80% since the previous issue of these denominations in 1992.

2004/2005 high denomination note updates

The 10,000 – 100,000 notes were replaced in 2004 and 2005, with the 100,000 reverting to a locally printed paper design, as the polymer notes proved difficult for bank machines to count; all the notes were given better anti-forgery devices.

New 2,000 rupiah note

After several delays, following an initial announcement that the 2000 rupiah note would replace the 1000 rupiah as lowest denomination, the new denomination, 2000 rupiah was finally officially released, to circulate alongside the lower denomination, in July 2009.

Revised 10,000 rupiah note

On 20 July 2010, the 2005 issue 10,000 rupiah note was revised, featuring the same theme but with a colour change to better distinguish it from the 100,000 rupiah note. Several changes were also made to the note's security features and devices.

Revised 20,000, 50,000, and 100,000 rupiah notes

On 1 August 2011, in commemoration of Youth Pledge Day, Bank Indonesia issued newly designed banknotes denominated in 20,000-, 50,000-, and 100,000-rupiah, although they bear no special commemorative text or images. The new notes have enhanced security features including rainbow printing and new codes for the sight impaired.

Revised 100,000 rupiah notes of 2014

Indonesia issued a revised 100,000 rupiah note on Independence Day, 17 August 2014. The banknotes have "Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia" written on the notes, replacing the name of its current issuer, Bank Indonesia. The new notes retain the images of its national figures and have more golden colors. It was purposely designed to make counterfeit harder. The revised note carries an imprint of TE. 2014 and the signatures of the then-BI governor Agus Martowardojo and the then-Indonesian Finance Minister Chatib Basri.

2016 series

Bank Indonesia introduced a new family of banknotes on 19 December 2016 in denominations of 1,000-, 2,000-, 5,000-, 10,000-, 20,000-, 50,000 and 100,000 rupiah. This series features national heroes from the history of Indonesia.

Security features