The Lapu Lapu Commemorative Banknote and Silver Medal

In Numismatic world, we are very particular with who will be the featured “Hero” in a certain coin especially here in the Philippines. History as it dictates, the most popular is Jose Rizal, our national hero.

However, there is another hero who creates his own name and is way ancient than Jose Rizal.

Lapulapu or Lapu-Lapu, whose name was first recorded as Çilapulapu, was a datu of Mactan in the Visayas. Modern Philippine society regards him as the first Filipino hero because of his resistance to imperial Spanish colonization. He is best known for the Battle of Mactan that happened at dawn on

April 27, 1521, where he and his warriors defeated the forces of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his native allies Rajah Humabon and Datu Zula. Magellan's death ended his voyage of circumnavigation and delayed the Spanish occupation of the islands by over forty years until the expedition of Miguel López de Legazpi in 1564. Legazpi continued the expeditions of Magellan, leading to the colonization of the Philippines for 333 years. Monuments of Lapulapu have been built all over the Philippines to honor Lapulapu's bravery against the Spaniards. The Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Fire Protection use his image as part of their official seals.

Besides being a rival of Rajah Humabon of neighboring Cebu, very little is reliably known about the life of Lapulapu. The only existing primary source mentioning him by name is the account of Antonio Pigafetta, and according to historian Resil B. Mojares, no European who left a primary record of Magellan's voyage/vessel "knew what he looked like, heard him speak (his recorded words of defiance and pride are all indirect), or mentioned that he was present in the battle of Mactan that made him famous." His name, origins, religion, and fate are still a matter of controversy.

In 1967, for the first time, the coin featured the Tagalog language and its composition changed to a silver-colour. This is the first time Lapu Lapu was featured in a Coin, and it is One Centavo.

Fast forward to 2021, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), in cooperation with the National Quincentennial Committee (NQC), launched today, January 18, the 5000-Piso Lapulapu Commemorative Banknote and Medal to kickoff the 99-day countdown to the 500th anniversary of the “Victory at Mactan.”

According to Central Bank of the Philippines’ Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Francisco Dakila, Jr. “The BSP and NCQ have collaborated on this commemorative banknote and medal to celebrate the heroism of Lapulapu and his warriors, and to familiarize the present generation with the country’s rich pre-colonial history.”

Along with the Banknote, BSP also issued the Lapu Lapu Commemorative Silver Medal. The medal, features on the obverse the markings, “Lapulapu,” above an image of the Lapu-Lapu Shrine in Cebu; and the logos of the QCP and the BSP.

Its reverse shows the markings “Battle of Mactan,” a rendition of the said battle, and the date “27 April 1521.”

The Lapulapu Commemorative Banknote can be purchased for Php 5,500, while the Lapulapu Commemorative Medal is priced at Php 3,500 per piece.

Should I include these on my collection? Why not!!!

Cheerio!