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are withdrawn, among other things, that the concerned banknotes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