2 1/2 Gulden/Roepiah

De Javasche Bank — the Dutch colonial central bank established in Batavia in 1828 — was still issuing notes for the Netherlands Indies in 1948 despite the political situation having shifted dramatically. The Indonesian Declaration of Independence had been proclaimed in August 1945, and the period surrounding this issue was defined by the Dutch "police actions" and ongoing sovereignty negotiations. That De Javasche Bank continued operating and issuing currency through Thomas De La Rue in London during this period reflects how stubbornly the Dutch administration maintained the fiction of normal colonial banking arrangements.

The dual denomination — Gulden and Roepiah printed on the same note — acknowledged the monetary reality on the ground, where both terms circulated in common usage. Full transfer of sovereignty came in December 1949.