Phillippines Currency

By: Ron Mund

I recently visited the Philippines for the first time. I stayed in Pasay, a suburb of Manila which is next to the ocean, near the airport and the Asia Mall (second largest mall in the world). It was a very interesting visit to see the city and get out in the country as well.

The culture is interesting, people are friendly, and the food is very reasonable and delicious.

I did my usual research on Google before I went to the Philippines to find a coin store. I was very happy to locate a great coin shop in a very big mall that appeared to be an interesting place to visit. With the help of my Filipino friend and his sister, we journeyed out in a nice taxi to the mall and searched for the coin shop.

The mall had hundreds of small shops on many floors, so we had to ask where the coin shop was located. Finally, we found it. To my surprise, it was a table and some showcases set up in an open area in the mall.

The shop was loaded with banknotes and coins – a numismatist dream to shop. The shop is J.C. Coins and Antiques. Unfortunately, it was getting late in the day and I did not have as much time as I wanted to go through more coins and banknotes.

I was able to purchase a couple banknotes and coins of which some were silver. I always thought that the coins which were minted in the USA were minted at the San Francisco Mint – to my surprise I ended up with a D mint mark coin, minted in Denver, Colorado. That made my day. I could not resist getting a 1-ounce silver coin as well.

The Philippines has an interesting history. A short summary will give you an idea about the transition into the current dictatorship.

The Philippines dates back over 1000 years. From 1565 to 1898 was the Spanish Colonial period. The Spanish Colonial period ended with the defeat of Spain by the United States in the Spanish – American War and the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898, which marked the beginning of the American Colonial Era.

Beginning in 1906, the military government was replaced by a civilian government—the Insular Government of the Philippine Islands—with William Howard Taft (who was elected as the 27th President of theUnited States two years later) serving as its first governor-general.

After the World War II Japanese invasion in 1941 and subsequent occupation of the Philippines, the United States and the Philippine Commonwealth military completed the recapture of the Philippines after Japan’s surrender, and spent nearly a year dealing with Japanese troops who were not aware of the war’s end, leading up to U.S. recognition of Philippine independence on July 4, 1946.

The United States struck coins for use in the Philippines from 1903 to 1945. Denominations included the 1⁄2 centavo, one centavo, five centavo, 10 centavo, 20 centavo, 50 centavo, and one peso. The 1⁄2 and 1 centavo coins were struck in bronze; the 5 centavo struck in copper (75%) – nickel (25%); the 10, 20, 50 centavo and peso coins were struck in a silver composition.

From 1903 to 1906, the silver coins had a silver content of 90%, while those struck after 1906 had a reduced silver content of 75% for 10 through 50 centavos and 80% for the peso. In both cases the silver was alloyed with copper.

The obverse of these coins remained largely unchanged during the years 1903 to 1945. The 1⁄2 centavo, one centavo, and five centavo coins depict a Filipino man kneeling against an anvil, with a hammer resting at his side. He is on the left side (foreground), while on the right side (background) there is a simmering volcano, Mt. Mayon.

The obverse of the 10, 20, 50 centavo, and peso coins are similar, but they show the figure of Liberty, a standing female figure (considered by many to be the daughter of the designer, ‘Blanca’) in the act of striking the anvil with a hammer. This was done to show the work being done by Americans in building a better Philippines. Liberty appears on the silver coins, instead of the base metal coins.

The reverse of the coins comes in two varieties. The earliest coins were minted when the islands were a U.S. Territory, and they bear the arms of the U.S. Territories. This is a broad winged eagle, sitting atop a shield divided into two registers. The upper register has 13 stars, and the lower register has 13 vertical stripes. The date appears at the bottom, and “United States of America” appears at the top.

When the islands became a U.S. Commonwealth, the arms of the Commonwealth were adopted. This seal is composed of a much smaller eagle with its wings pointed up, perched over a shield with peaked corners, above a scroll reading “Commonwealth of the Philippines.” Coins were minted at the Philadelphia, San Francisco, Denver, and (after it was opened in 1920) the Manila mint. Most of the coins struck at the Manila mint occurred after 1925.

Among the rarest coins in the U.S. Philippines series from the collector’s standpoint are the 1906-S One Peso, the 1916-S Five Centavos, the 1918-S Five Centavo Mule, the 1903-S Twenty Centavos (especially in mint state), and the 1915-S One Centavo.

In 1995, the new BSP Coin Series was introduced, which is still circulating today. Only this current series of coins are legal tender since May 1, 2020. Above is a Philippine Banknotes printed in the United States of America.

In 1903, the U.S. administration in the Philippines, after approval by the U.S. Congress and the U.S. President, established a new currency system in the Philippines. This system was based on the Gold Exchange Standard. The legal currency would be the Philippine Silver Peso at the rate in gold coin of one U.S. Dollar for two Philippine Pesos. Despite initial difficulties in gaining public confidence and adoption of this new currency system in the Philippines, it was eventually accepted to the point that paper Silver Certificates came to vastly exceed the number of silver Peso coins in circulation by a wide margin.

The banknotes have the Bust of Apolinario Mabini facing right, at left; the Seal of the Commonwealth of the Philippines at right; and orange underprint, all issued during 1935-1946.

Philippine coins and notes are the treasure of the nation. They are woven into the fabric of their social, political, and economic life. From its early bead-like form to the paper notes and coins that we know today, the money has been a constant reminder of the journey through centuries as a people relating with one another and with other peoples of the world. It is truly amazing to learn how many changes have occurred with the control of the Philippines.

• Pre-Hispanic Era
• Spanish Era
• Revolutionary Period
• American Period
• Japanese Occupation
• Philippine Republic

An interesting part of the Philippine coins is a 1944 D/S (D over S Mint Mark). The 1944 D over S Twenty Centavos is unique among USA/Philippine coins in that it is the only time during the 43-year history of U.S./Philippine coinage that a mint mark was ever over-punched with the mint mark from a different mint.

After reading this article you probably feel as confused as I do about the dates and eras of coinage and banknotes of the Philippines. Regardless, it is interesting to have the knowledge. If you have a high interest in Philippine currency, feel free to do more research on your own. Much of the information in this article was put together by me using Google search from many different web sites.