West Irian Rupiah - Banknotes

Banknotes

Bank Indonesia notes were printed by Indonesian printer P.N. Pertejetakan Kebajoran dated "1960" with the overprint "Irian Barat" in denominations of 5, 10, and 100 rupiah bearing the image of President Soekarno. The government notes were dated "1961" with the "Irian Barat" overprint in 1 and 2½ rupiah denominations.

Near-identical, but for the overprint, versions of all five notes had previously been issued for the Riau rupiah, while the same five notes (minus the overprint) were also circulated as Indonesian rupiah in 1965 (with the 1 and 2½ rupiah notes alone redated, to "1964").

Green (1) and blue (2½) variants of the 1 and 2½ notes were intended for issue in North Borneo, which Indonesia saw as a possible extension to its territory due to the power vacuum in the region at that time.

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