Netherlands Indies 10-Cent Proof Note

Netherlands Indies 10-Cent Proof Note  

This likely precusor to an issued note was designed in a WWII POW camp  

by Rob Huisman  

At the end of 2003, a horde of between 15 and 20 previously unknown Netherlands Indies 10-cent proof notes were offered for sale in Indonesia. This lot was reportedly owned by the grandson of an employee of De Javasche Bank (Java Bank, the banknote-issuing authority in Dutch colonial Indonesia from 1828 to 1953). I was fortunate enough to obtain one of these notes in aUNC condition with minor tropical staining for US$400, and currently know of five more in private collections or sold at public auction. As is often the case with new discoveries of old notes, this acquisition launched me on a journey of investigation to attempt to determine the authenticity and history of this interesting little note.       

 The dimensions of the 10-cent note are 100 x 60 millimeters. It is a uniface note printed on one side only in two colors and does not carry any serial number identification nor watermark. The printing, paper, and the design all indicate this is an authentic proof note. There are several factors I took into consideration when trying to establish the year of origin of the proof note:   

• The design has similarities with the 10- and 25-sen notes (Indonesia P31 and P32) of the post-WWII issue, dated December 1, 1947.    

• The dimensions are identical to that of the 10-sen note of the post-WWII issue, dated December 1, 1947.    

• The nominal value of the note is printed in both Dutch (TIEN CENT) and Indonesian (SEPOELOEH SEN); this combination appeared on notes issued from 1943 by the NICA (Netherlands Indies Civil Administration) to 1948—the last Netherlands Indies post-WWII issue—in response to calls for more nationalistic expressions on paper money.    

• Although the “Muntbiljet” (state notes) series from 1920 also uses the terms “Nederlandsch-Indie” (Netherlands Indies) and “wettig betaalmiddel” (legal tender), the first note that spells the former with an umlaut over the last letter (ë) is the “Muntbiljet” series dated June 15, 1940.    

 • De Javasche Bank issued banknotes with denominations of five gulden and higher; lower denomination state notes were issued by the Netherlands Indies government.   

Based on these considerations, I assume the note originates from the period between June 1940 and December 1947. During my research, I discovered an article written by P. J. Soetens (former archivist of De Nederlandsche Bank, the Dutch central bank) about unissued De Javasche Bank notes during the same period that could very well explain the origin of this 10-cent proof note. According to Soetens’ article, the German invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940 broke the colony’s relationship with Joh. Enschedé en Zonen, its traditional banknote supplier in the mother country. In order to meet the demand for Netherlands Indies paper money, De Javasche Bank requested the printing company of N.V. Kolff’s Offsetdrukkerij in Batavia (now Jakarta) to design a new series of notes in denominations of 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 gulden. Johannes-Wouterus Donkers, operations manager at this printing factory, developed a design for the 5-gulden note.  

The design of the 5-gulden note was approved by the De Javasche Bank board, and a small number of notes intended for issuance were then printed. Preparations were also started for the design of 10- and 25-gulden notes. Unfortunately this process was disturbed by the Japanese invasion of the Netherlands Indies in March 1942. Subsequently Kolff deliberately destroyed its stock of 5-gulden proof notes, though the printer saved a few sheets as well as a bundle of 500 finished notes (overprinted “SPECIMEN” on front and back and twice perforated “BETAALD” [paid]). Together with the original drawings, these sheets and cancelled notes were transferred to De Javasche Bank.  

Donkers was arrested by the Japanese in early April 1942 and placed in a camp where he joined several board members of De Javasche Bank, including Gerard Gillis van Buttingha Wichers and J. C. van Waveren. During his captivity, Donkers decided to design a series of banknotes in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 cents in preparation for Japan’s surrender. In May 1943, Donkers was transferred to another camp, but not before burying his designs and tools in large glass bottles in the garden of the house where he was kept prisoner.  

After the Japanese surrender in August 1945, Donkers convinced British General Sir Philip Christison to excavate the buried banknote designs, which was done on January 22, 1946, under the protection of a military Gurkha force. When digging they found a large biscuit container that contained the glass bottles, tools, and designs. The container also included a note that read, “Our children found your belongings while playing in the garden and damaged a bottle; we have put everything in a container and hope you will recover everything in good order. Some temporary inhabitants of house 17.” Later Donkers expressed his compliments stating, “This characterizes the Dutch women in the Japanese camps, knowing that they could have used the contents of the bottles to buy food!”