The Marcos Gold Coin and The Philippine Republic Money Series

Part I     Piloncitos

Part II          Barter Rings

Part III     Alfonso Coin

Part IV     Two Centavo Copper Coin

Part V     The 1906 S Coin

Part VI     The Mickey Mouse Money

This is Part VII and the last part of our Philippine Money Series. All earlier Parts are Linked above. This Series is dated 1946, after we win the war against the Japanese, and of course, up to the present times.

The First Philippine Republic was under Emilio Aguinaldo year 1899.

Jose P. Laurel

The Second Philippine Republic was established during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. At the outset of the occupation, the Japanese government established a military administration over the Philippines, as well as the Philippine Executive Commission, composed of several pre-war Filipino political leaders. The KALIBAPI (Kapisanan ng Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas) was also organized, designed to be the sole and exclusive political organization in the Philippines.

On June 16, 1943, Premier Hideki Tojo promised independence to the Philippines. The KALIBAPI would then form the Preparatory Committee on Philippine Independence (PCPI), which was tasked with drafting a new Constitution. The new Constitution was approved by the Preparatory Committee on Philippine Independence on September 4, 1943 and ratified by the KALIBAPI on September 7, 1943.

The KALIBAPI then proceeded to elect part of the new National Assembly, which also included appointed members; in turn, the National Assembly elected its Speaker and then elected Jose P. Laurel as President. On October 14, 1943, in ceremonies in front of the Legislative Building in Manila, the new Republic was inaugurated, and Jose P. Laurel, the Chairman of the Preparatory Committee, assumed office as President.

On September 21, 1944, President Laurel proclaimed martial law in the Philippines (it came into effect on September 22). On September 23, 1944, Laurel proclaimed that the Philippines was “in a state of war” with the Allied Powers—but this was never ratified by the National Assembly. In large part, Japanese disappointment with Laurel led to the Republic under Laurel being superseded by the Makapili, organized in December, 1944 to more militantly oppose the returning American forces and Filipino guerrillas. The Japanese brought the Laurel government to Baguio in December, 1944, and a small remnant of that government was taken to Tokyo in March, 1945. Laurel formally dissolved the Second Republic on August 17, 1945, two days after Japan surrendered to the Allies.

A nation in command of its destiny is the message reflected in the evolution of Philippine money under the Philippine Republic. Having gained independence from the United States following the end of World War II, the country used as currency old treasury certificates overprinted with the word "Victory".

With the establishment of the Central Bank of the Philippines in 1949, the first currencies issued were the English series notes printed by the Thomas de la Rue & Co., Ltd. in England and the coins minted at the US Bureau of Mint. The Filipinization of the Republic coins and paper money began in the late 60's and is carried through to the present. 

The English Series (1949-1974):

When the American liberation forces arrived in 1944, they brought the currency called the Victory Series No. 66. With the creation of the Central Bank of the Philippines in 1949, came the issuance of the English Series. They were in denominations 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 pesos; all bearing portraits of Filipino heroes on the obverse, vignettes in Philippine history on the reverse, and worded in English language. On the other hand, all denominations of the Victory Series No. 66 were overprinted with “Central Bank of the Philippines” on the reverse side, and remained legal tender until July 30, 1964.

The two highest denominations of the English Series were later withdrawn from circulation on December 31, 1957, pursuant to R.A. No. 1516. Only notes of 1 up to 50 pesos continued to be printed until 1961.

Reverse	Obverse
Seal of the Republic of the Philippines, "Central Bank of the Philippines"	Lady Liberty striking an anvil with a hammer with a volcano (Mt. Mayon) erupting in the background, "Fifty Centavos", year mark

Small-denomination notes were also printed from 1951 through 1957 (5-, 10-, 20- and 50-centavos) to replace the US-Filipinas metallic coins. In 1955, the Half-Peso note of bigger dimensions also went into circulation. On January 5, 1970, these small notes ceased to be legal tender. Pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 378, all banknotes of the English Series were considered demonetized after February 28, 1974.

The Pilipino Series (1969-1974):

Reverse	Obverse
Seal of the Republic of the Philippines, "Bangko Sentral", year mark	Jose Rizal, "Piso", "1"

To complete the Filipinization of Philippine currency, the Central Bank started to issue the series of multi-colored Central Bank notes worded in Pilipino and similarly bearing the portraits of Filipino heroes on the reverse, and vignettes in Philippine history on the reverse toward mid-1969. This series called Pilipino series came in denominations 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100. The first five notes have been widely circulated while the issuance of the 100-peso bills was limited. Together with the English Series, this Pilipino Series was considered demonetized after February 28, 1974 pursuant to PD 378.

Ang Bagong Lipunan Series (1975-1998):

In the 70's, the Ang Bagong Lipunan (ABL) series notes were circulated, which were printed at the Security Printing Plant starting 1978. A new wave of change swept through the Philippine coinage system with the flora and fauna coins initially issued in 1983. These series featured national heroes and species of flora and fauna. The new design series of banknotes issued in 1985 replaced the ABL series. Ten years later, a new set of coins and notes were issued carrying the logo of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Reverse

Seal of the Republic of the Philippines, "Ang Bagong Lipunan", "Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas", year mark

Obverse

Jose Rizal, "Republika ng Pilipinas", "1 Piso"

Reverse	Obverse
Seal of the Republic of the Philippines, "Republika ng Pilipinas", "5 Piso"	Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos", "Setyembre 21, 1972", "Ang Bagong Lipunan"

Commemorative coins may vary in size with the ordinary circulation coins. These coins were minted to honor a specific person or recognize the significance of a place or event that made a mark in the history of Philippines. Most of these commemorative coins are minted from precious metals like gold and silver making them extraordinary and more expensive.

The Central Bank of the Philippines issues 1,000-peso Coin to commemorate the 3rd Anniversary of "Ang Bagong Lipunan" on Sept. 2, 1972. Portrait of President Ferdinand Marcos was  on the Obverse side of the coin.

The Ang Bagong Lipunan (ABL) series was issued by the Central Bank of the Philippines in line with Presidential Decree No. 168 dated April 2, 1973. The Ang Bagong Lipunan (literally means New Society) legend overprinted on the banknotes was meant to symbolize then President Marcos’ New Society which marked the era of reforms on social, economic and political structure of the government. This legend was the main difference in the design between ABL and Pilipino series. The lowest denomination in the ABL series was 2-peso and the highest was 100-peso. The 2-peso denomination carried the design elements of the 1-peso Pilipino series. The ABL banknote series was considered demonetized after February 2, 1996.

Flora and Fauna Series (1983-1998):

The Flora and Fauna series was introduced in 1983 which included 2-peso coins. The coins featured portraits of renowned Filipino patriots and heroes on the obverse and rare species of fauna, flora and marine life indigenous to the Philippines were represented on the reverse. This series circulated simultaneously with 10-centavo English, all denominations of Pilipino and Ang Bagong Lipunan series.

Improved Flora and Fauna Series (1991-1998):

The sizes of the coins were reduced in 1991 thus the Flora Fauna Series was renamed Improved Flora and Fauna. Along with this improvement was the introduction of 5-peso coin to replace the 5-peso banknote and save on the cost of printing considering that 5-peso banknote was the most widely circulated denomination. Other denominations of the Flora and Fauna such as the 50-, 10-, 5- and 1-sentimo were not anymore improved. This series together with the 10-centavo English, all denominations of Pilipino, Ang Bagong Lipunan and Flora and Fauna were considered demonetized after January 2, 1998.

New Design Series (NDS) (1985-2017):

When Martial Law was lifted in 1981, the Central Bank started to print and mint an entirely new series of Philippine currency notes and coins which are contemporary and forward looking, adopting the latest trend of anti-counterfeiting features. On June 12, 1985, the BSP issued the New Design Series starting with the 5-peso banknote with the face of Emilio Aguinaldo on the obverse side. The following month, the 10-peso banknote with the face of Apolinario Mabini on the obverse side was issued. In early 1986, a new 20-peso banknote appeared. After the 1986 People Power Revolution and the new 1987 Constitution was promulgated, the 500-peso banknote with the face of Benigno Aquino, Jr. on the obverse side was introduced. In 1991, the BSP issued for the first time a 1000-peso banknote, containing on the obverse side the composite portraits of Jose Abad Santos, Josefa Llanes Escoda and Vicente Lim.

The second major political upheaval called EDSA II in 2001 was depicted on the reverse side of the 200-peso showing Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo being sworn into office at the EDSA Shrine. She is the first president whose image has been included in a banknote while in office. On the obverse side of the banknote is the portrait of his father, Diosdado Macapagal. The 200-peso NDS which was issued in 2002, was the last denomination to be added in the series.

In the NDS, the country’s social and political development and economic achievements were highlighted. The design was made more distinctly Pilipino through the adoption of ethnic designs at the background of all the denominations instead of the embellishing lacework patterns from western culture that were depicted in the earlier series. The seal of the Central Bank of the Philippines in the obverse and the size of the Pilipino series had been retained.

After the passage of the New Central Bank Act of 1993, the New Design Series bears the new seal of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

In the latter part of 1997, the revised 10-piso banknote, with portraits of Apolinario Mabini and Andres Bonifacio on the obverse side, was issued.

In 1998, the 100,000-peso Centennial banknote, measuring 8.5"x14", accredited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest legal tender note was issued in a limited quantity of 1000 pieces to commemorate the celebration of the Centennial of Philippine Independence. Along with this was the launching of the 2000-peso Centennial Note, measuring 216 mm x 133 mm and bearing the signature of President Joseph E. Estrada, on December 1, 1998. Also, in 1998, the year of printing was added at the bottom of the denomination value located at the upper left corner of the obverse.

In 1999, the names of the signatories on the bills were added starting with banknotes featuring the signature of President Joseph Estrada. During the Estrada Administration, the practice in use since the Commonwealth, of reproducing the signature of the President of the Philippines over the legend "President of the Philippines" was abandoned in favor of explicitly stating the president's name.

Meanwhile, in the latter part of 1990’s, colored reproduction machines became available in commercial quantity and has become a big threat to the integrity of the currency. As a result, in 2001, BSP decided to enhance the security features of the of 1000, 500, and 100-peso banknotes, including the 200-peso which was issued in 2002, by incorporating the iridescent band and the windowed security thread to combat counterfeiting made out of colored copiers.

Pursuant to BSP Circular No. 954, Series of 2017, the NDS banknotes were demonetized after 30 June 2017.

As the repository and custodian of country's numismatic heritage, the Museo ng Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas collects, studies and preserves coins, paper notes, medals, artifacts and monetary items found in the Philippines during the different historical periods. It features a visual narration of the development of the Philippine economy parallel to the evolution of its currency.

The currency of the Philippines (officially, Republic of the Philippines) is called the Philippine Peso. Its ISO 4217 code is PHP and it has PhP or P as symbol. The issuer of the Philippine Peso is the Central Bank of the Philippines

This was really a long read!!! From this series, there's a lot to digest about all the information. Nonetheless, there's so much interesting Coins to hunt. Personally, I love those Coins during the Marcos Regime... Well, that's just me.

Cheerio!