Farmers, traders, rulers, missionaries and the military have all had a part in the cosmopolitan societies that existed in Nusantara. Money has taken many forms over the millennia, and our region has seen a greater diversity than most. Cowrie shells, tin “tampan” and brass gongs are some of the more exotic stores of value. But among coins and banknotes there are some equally distinctive means of making commercial exchange a safe and convenient activity. Nowadays the central banks have taken on this role. In the past, there was less clarity about issuing authorities. Many different currencies could circulate in the same location, resulting in a variety of payment options. Often this resulted in confusion and even counterfeiting. In this exhibition there are examples of forgeries intended to deceive, along with local copies that represented a tribute to the originals. Good designs have always had their admirers, some of whom have created coins to pay homage to innovations such as the pohon pitis, the coin money tree that had coins which could be detached from its branches or used as an entire “money tree”. In other cases it is the name of a coin that became adopted by different societies. The “leeuwendaler” (“lion dollar”), which circulated in the Dutch colonies such as New York, ended up as the official US currency after the war of independence from Britain. The same Dutch coins were also common in the Malay Archipelago, but only in Brunei has the dollar survived as an official term for the currency.
François Villeroy de Galhau: New Year wishes 2023 New Year wishes to the Paris financial centre by Mr François Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Bank of France and Chairman of the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de resolution (ACPR), Paris, 5 January 2023. *** Allow me to extend my warmest wishes for 2023 on behalf of the Banque de France and the ACPR. I don't know if I dare wish you, or wish us, a year free of shocks after those of 2020, 2021 and 2022. This past year has been marked by a climate of uncertainty, exacerbated by Russia's war in Ukraine and the energy crisis. It has also seen increased financial market volatility, compounded by the turmoil in the cryptoasset universe. In this unstable environment, I would like to make two double wishes for 2023: 1) Less inflation and more stabilisation. Activity has, until now, proved more resilient than expected, which is good news; however, inflation must not become entrenched. It is the number one concern for French people, and defeating it is our number one mission. It fell in December to 6.7%, which is encouraging but still not enough. It should peak in the first half, before declining towards 4% by the end of this year. But our forecast, and our commitment, is that inflation should be brought down towards 2% by end-2024 to end-2025.