Secrets of Bukittinggi’s paper money serial numbers

Uang Republik Indonesia Propinsi Sumatra (URIPS) 1947-1948

Secrets of Bukittinggi’s paper money serial numbers

February 2008
By Rob Huisman

Introduction

Bukittinggi is a middle large city located on the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The city received its name in 1949 when Indonesia became independent from the Netherlands. Previously it was called Fort de Kock and was originally established as an outpost of the Dutch colonial forces.

Ever since the early days, Bukittinggi was an important location in Sumatra for the Dutch, later for the Japanese during their occupation of the Netherlands Indies, and subsequent to the Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia 

After the Japanese surrendered in 1945, Soekarno and Hatta proclaimed the Independence of Indonesia on August 17 of the same year. In order to support the revolution they started initiatives to issue Indonesian paper money throughout the territory.

Since Indonesia officially remained a Dutch colony until December 1949, the Dutch tried to restore their rule after the Japanese surrender. In the period 1945 – 1949 Indonesia was divided in three area’s. One area where the Dutch were in control and issued their own NICA (Netherlands Indies Civil Administration) money. Another area where the Indonesian revolutionaries were in charge and started to issue their own ORI (Oeang Republik Indonesia) money in August 1946. There was a third area where also the newly proclaimed Indonesian government was in charge, however due to logistical problems could not issue their own ORI money.

Teuku Mohammad (T.M.)  Hasan was the Republican Governor of  Sumatra. During the Darurat Cabinet of Sjafruddin Prawiranegara he was Minister of Education from 19 December 1948 – 13 July 1949. In his capacity as Governor he signed the URIPS (Uang Republik Indonesia Propinsi Sumatera) papermoney emission, dated 17 August 1947 and issued in Bukittinggi.

Like the ORI (Oeang Republik Indonesia) money issued on Java, the URIPS money has a secret code hidden in the serial number. Since the URIPS money was printed using simple techniques, it was easy to falsify. Financial authorities created a fixed relation between the three characters of the serial number in order to easily identify forgeries.

Emissie Oeang Republik Indonesia (URIPS), Bukittinggi, Sumatra, 17 August 1947, T.N. Hasan

½ (Setengah) Rupiah, 17 August 1947 (KUKI H-512)

Obverse and reverse printed in brown (varying from pink brown to chocolate brown). The obverse has a green under print.

The serial number is printed in red and consists of 5 numbers and 3 characters. The first and last character are always capitals and the middle character is always in lower-case.

The number range is observed from 01132 till 58427

The characters only exist in specific combinations according to the following table:

 
1 (Satu) Rupiah, 17 August 1947 (KUKI H-513)

Obverse and reverse printed in red or brown (varying from red, red brown to chocolate brown). The obverse has a green under print.

The serial number is printed in black and consists of 5 numbers and 3 characters. The first and last character are always capitals and the middle character is always in lower-case.

The number range is observed from 04126 till 47519

The characters only exist in specific combinations according to the following table:

2½ (Dua) Rupiah (Setengah), 17 August 1947 (KUKI H-514)

Obverse and reverse printed in brown (varying from light brown to chocolate brown). The obverse has a brown under print.

The serial number is printed in black and consists of 5 numbers and 3 characters. The first and last character are always capitals and the middle character is always in lower-case.

The number range is observed from 27180 till 53872

The characters only exist in specific combinations according to the following table:

 
5 (Lima) Rupiah, 17 August 1947 (KUKI H-515)

Obverse and reverse printed in blue (varying from light blue to dark blue). The obverse has a blue under print.

The serial number is printed in red and consists of 5 numbers and 3 characters. The first and last character are always capitals and the middle character is always in lower-case.

The number range is observed from 08920 till 89753

 The characters only exist in specific combinations according to the following table:

10 (Sepuluh) Rupiah, 17 August 1947 (KUKI H-516)

Obverse and reverse printed in brown (varying from pink brown to chocolate brown). The obverse has a green under print.

The serial number is printed in red and consists of 5 numbers and 3 characters. The first and last character are always capitals and the middle character is always in lower-case.

The number range is observed from 00915 till 83899

 The characters only exist in specific combinations according to the following table:

25 (Dua puluh lima) Rupiah, 17 August 1947 (KUKI H-517)

Obverse and reverse printed in green (varying from light green to dark green). The obverse has a red under print.

The serial number is printed in red and consists of 5 numbers and 3 characters. The first and last character are always capitals and the middle character is always in lower-case.

The number range is observed from 01840 till 94182

The characters only exist in specific combinations according to the following table:

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 Source:

 Banknotes and Coins from Indonesia 1945-1990, Yayasan Serangan Umum 1 Maret 1949 & Perum Peruri Jakarta

Katalog Uang Kertas Indonesia 1782-1996, Sugiana Handjaja, 1996 issue (KUKI)