1/2 Rupiah ORI III

ORI — Oeang Republik Indonesia — was the currency issued by the fledgling republic to replace Dutch colonial money after the 1945 independence declaration. The third series appeared in 1947 during the first Dutch "police action," a period of active military pressure on the republic's territorial and administrative control. Printing under those conditions, on domestic facilities with limited materials, was not a controlled industrial operation.

The half-rupiah denomination served small daily transactions at a time when hyperinflationary pressure was already eroding confidence in paper issues.