Women's Appreciation, Bank Indonesia's First Printed Money Turns Out To Have A Picture Of Kartini
JAKARTA – Do readers know how many female heroes are immortalized in rupiah currency? Or, who was the first character to decorate the rupiah notes printed by Bank Indonesia (BI)?
Citing the official channel of the central bank on Sunday, June 20, it was stated that by the end of 2020, there were 191 people who had been appointed as Indonesian national heroes, 15 of whom were women.
Of the 15 female heroes, only 5 have their figures enshrined in money. They are RA Kartini, Dewi Sartika, Martha Christina Tiahahu, Tjut Njak Dien, and Tjut Meutia.
These characters struggle through their respective fields, such as education, writing and thought, to fight directly on the battlefield. His name not only adorns history sheets, but also on rupiah banknotes.
This great woman also fought for the sovereignty and independence of the Indonesian nation during the colonial period.
For information, the first female hero immortalized in money is Kartini. He appeared on the Rp5 bill in 1953. One thing that is interesting is that the money was the first series of notes printed by Bank Indonesia (BI) with the title of figures and culture.
This money has actually been prepared since 1952. At that time, BI was preparing for its birth after nationalizing De Javasche Bank (DJB) in 1951.
Because the new BI Law was enacted in 1953, the 1952 banknote was only officially issued on July 2, 1953. The image of Kartini reappeared on the front of the 1985 Rp10,000 nominal banknote.
In addition to Kartini's picture, there is Martha Christina Tiahahu from Maluku in the nominal IDR 5,000 emission in 1985 and Dewi Sartika from Bandung (West Java) at the nominal IDR 5,000 emission in 1982. Both appear as watermarks.
Female heroes from Aceh have also appeared in rupiah currency, namely Tjut Njak Dien and Tjut Meutia.
Meanwhile, Tjut Meutia was first used in 1992 emissions in the nominal value of Rp. 1,000 and Rp. 5,000, as a watermark. Tjut Meutia reappeared as a watermark in the same nominal in the period 2000, 2001, and 2016.
Only in 2016, his face appeared as a front image of a Rp1,000 banknote. Meanwhile, Tjut Njak Dien once appeared on the front of the Rp 10,000 banknote in 1998.