New banknotes

New banknotes

From Bisnis Indonesia

As a layman I have no knowledge whatsoever of how to distinguish fake banknotes from original ones, because, even under close examination, they look very much similar. So we all should be watchful against this tricky phenomenon.

A newspaper once reported that the reasons why some banknotes of Rp 100, Rp 500, Rp 1,000, Rp 5,000 and Rp 10,000 denominations are withdrawn, among other things, that the concerned banknotes are no longer in good shape and there were indications that some of them were counterfeit (Kompas, Sept. 23, 1995).

It is also highly likely that there are some counterfeit Rp 20,000 banknotes.

The point is that, if the central bank is going to print new banknotes, the public must be informed of their new nature -- designs, paper quality and characteristics, etc. This is to anticipate counterfeits.

I need to call for due attention to this matter because after observing the 1995 printed Rp 20,000 banknote and comparing it with the banknote of the same value printed in 1992, I found some discrepancies which led me to be suspicious. First, the signatures of the officials printed on the 1992 printed banknotes and on the 1995 ones differ. Second, the thread that runs across the paper in both banknotes is different. Third, the 1995 printed banknotes of Rp 20,000 are in two categories: the one bearing the figure 20,000 in red around the Maluku islands, but this figure (design) is absent on the 1995 issue.

There are still other differences that can be detected between the banknote printed in 1992 and the one printed in 1995.

In this context, we call on the central bank to give necessary information concerning the nature of the new banknotes so as to eliminate confusion or doubt among the society.

FACHRUDDIN AMILIE

Depok, West Java