Part I    Piloncitos Part II    Barter Rings Part III    Alfonso Coin Part IV    Two-Centavo Copper Coin Part V    1906 S This is Part VI of our Philippine Money series. All earlier Parts are linked above. This Part is all about the Japanese occupation in the Philippines during and after the 2nd World War which lasted three years, from 1942 to 1945. After the American Regime in the Philippines from 1900-1941, there goes the 2nd World War. One of the Invaders which plays a great role in that Battle, are the Japanese.  The Commonwealth of the Philippines was attacked by the Empire of Japan on December 8, 1941, nine hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor (the Philippines is on the Asian side of the international date line). The United States of America controlled the Philippines at the time and possessed important military bases there. The combined American-Filipino army was defeated in the Battle of Bataan and the Battle of Corregidor in April 1942, but guerrilla resistance against the

Part I      Piloncitos Part II    Barter Rings Part III    Alfonso Coin Part IV    Two-Centavo Copper Coin This is Part V of our Philippine Money series, all Parts prior to this are linked above. When the Americans occupy the Philippines defeating the Spaniards on 1898, and after the Americans inhibited and banned Aguinaldo to print his own Coins, they released those new form of currency and the United States coins were introduced. This era on our currency is called the American Period and it happens from 1900 to 1941, just before the Peak of the Second World War. In 1903 and 1904, the US mint at Philadelphia struck bronze-minted half centavo coins for circulation. Eventually, the coin was withdrawn from circulation because it was rejected by Filipinos for its low value. Following the Spanish-American War, the United States gained control of the Philippine Islands under the 1898 Treaty of Paris. In 1903, the Philadelphia Mint began making coins for the Philippines based on a Centavos/P

Part I        Piloncitos Part II       Barter Rings Part III      Alfonso Coin This is Part IV of our Philippine Money Series. Earlier Parts are linked above. We will call this Era of our currency The Revolutionary Period. Before we discuss anything about our Money system during the Revolutionary Period, you should learn that the Philippines is under the Ruling of the Spaniards from 1565 to 1898, as the Colonization starts with the arrival of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi's expedition on 13th of February. Then it all ended when America defeated Spain on "The Great American War". Of course, the Philippines then became a territory of the United States. Emilio Aguinaldo When the U.S. declared war on Spain, Emilio Aguinaldo saw a possibility that the Philippines might achieve its independence; the U.S. hoped instead that Aguinaldo would lend his troops to its effort against Spain. He returned to Manila on May 19, 1898 and declared Philippine independence on June 12. On 10 December

Part I Piloncitos Part II      Barter Rings OK, we have discussed about Ingots, Piloncitos and Barter Rings, those were our Money here in the Philippines while in our infamous Galleon Trade during the Pre-Hispanic era or during before the 1500s. Before we are being discovered by Ferdinand Magellan, so as our History says.  This is Part III of our Philippine Money series, Parts I and II are linked above. Now, let's see what kind of Money we have used during the Hispanic Era, this happens from 1521-1897, after all, a Portuguese Navigator named Ferdinand Magellan discovered our country on March 16, 1521. Macuquinas 1739 Dos Mundos The cobs or macuquinas of colonial mints were the earliest coins brought in by the galleons from Mexico and other Spanish colonies.  These silver coins usually bore a cross on one side and the Spanish royal coat-of-arms on the other. The Spanish dos mundos were circulated extensively not only in the Philippines but the world over from 1732-1772.   Treasu

Part I    Piloncitos This is Part II of our Philippine Money series, and Part I is linked above.  We have started talking about Philippine money and within that list, one of the probably, oldest system of them all is, The Barter Rings. According to the Central Bank of the Philippines, the trade among the early Filipinos and with traders from the neighboring islands was conducted through barter. The inconvenience of barter later led to the use of some objects as medium of exchange. Gold, which was plentiful in many parts of the islands, invariably found its way into these objects that included the Piloncitos, small bead-like gold bits considered by the local numismatists as the earliest coin of the ancient Filipinos, and gold barter rings. During the early times of the Galleon Trade or the infamous "Kalakalang Galyon", the earliest Filipinos traded with gold ring-like ingots, very similar to the first coins invented in the Kingdom of Lydia in present day Turkey. These barter r

When we talk about the kind of monetary system in the Philippines, one of probably the oldest kind are the Piloncitos. Piloncitos or also known as Bulawan, are tiny engraved gold coins or weights found in the country from the Archaic period or the pre-Hispanic era. We have taught by our beloved teachers about the Barter during those times. It is the way trade among the early Filipinos and with traders from neighboring islands was conducted. The inconvenience of barter later led to the use of some objects as a medium of exchange. Gold, which was plentiful in many parts of the islands, invariably found its way into these objects that included the Piloncitos, small bead-like gold bits considered by the local numismatists as the earliest coin of ancient Filipinos, and gold barter rings. The word is derived from Spanish "Piloncitos", meaning "little weights." Piloncitos is presumably an offshoot of the silver and may have evolved into the bullet or Pod duang coinage of S

A lot of people nowadays wanted to collect something, might it be from a hobby or just plain interest on something. I myself on the other hand, is fond of collecting Coins, among others. I have written this to encourage you to do same, not just so you can be a part of a certain group but to gain something of great value in the future. In an interview with Mr. Rod Gillis, an Education Director for the American Numismatic Association, he says that, "If you are new to Coin collecting, I would like to spend a moment talking to you about, perhaps the most important decision that you're going to make in your collecting career, and that is, HOW TO COLLECT." There really are a lot of people who are fond of collecting Coins, not just in the US, but all around the world. There are people who collects Coins from the places they visit, some are collecting Coins from the year of their birth, some are collecting Coins if they see a certain animal in there or if it is shiny or

When we talk about Philippine Coins, there’s always discussions about commemorative coin issued by The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or Central Bank of the Philippines. For every list, there’s always common, the number one. Talking about the first commemorative coin of the Philippines will bring us way back to Pre 1980’s, particularly the 1940’s, when the first Commemorative Coin was minted. The theme was the liberation of the Philippines from the Japanese by General Douglas MacArthur. After the granting of independence to the Philippines in 1946, no coins were minted for the Philippine Republic until 1958, other than a small silver commemorative issue in 1947 to honor General Douglas MacArthur. Totals of 200,000 50 centavos and 100,000 one-peso coins were minted with the general's image on the obverse and the national coat-of-arms on the reverse. Struck at the San Francisco Mint, they carry the "S" mintmark below the date. This commemorative Silver peso to honor Gen

I have been searching the net trying to look for any information about Philippine coins. This is probably not the grandest info you’ll come across about Philippine coin but still, what the heck! Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas have issued a lot of commemorative coins for past presidents of the country. If you ever wonder who they are: Emilio Aguinaldo Manuel L. Quezon Sergio Osmeña Manuel Roxas Diosdado Macapagal Ferdinand E. Marcos Corazon C. Aquino Fidel V. Ramos Joseph Ejercito Estrada Gloria Macapagal–Arroyo 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. Other than circulation coins, the BSP also issues commemorative coins which are also legal tender.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is the central bank of the Republic of the Philippines. It was established on 3 July 1993 pursuant to the provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution and the New Central Bank Act of 1993. The BSP took over from the Central Bank of Philippines, which was established on 3 January 1949, as the country’s central monetary authority. The BSP enjoys fiscal and administrative autonomy from the National Government in the pursuit of its mandated responsibilities. The new BSP logo is a perfect round shape in blue that features three gold stars and a stylized Philippine eagle rendered in white strokes. These main elements are framed on the left side with the text inscription “Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas” underscored by a gold line drawn in half circle. The right side remains open, signifying freedom, openness, and readiness of the BSP, as represented by the Philippine eagle, to soar and fly toward its goal. Putting all these elements together is a

I personally am fond of collecting old coins. I have an ample collection, and decent if I may add, of Philippine old coins. Though I collect coins for a hobby, some people kept on asking me how I acquire those coins and if I’m selling one. So in some cases, when I visit the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines), I always try to order an additional from my own to sell or give it as a gift to my friends. I always wonder, what Philippine coin is the most expensive ever sold, and how much. Priced at $22, 000 or Php 1,038,136.00 as of this writing ($1 = Php 47.19), the 1903 San Francisco Mint fifty centavos is perhaps the most expensive United States-Philippines coin ever sold. Only 2 specimens have reported and only one formally auctioned for the price mentioned. Do not mistake this one for the common 1903 Philadelphia Mint fifty centavos. This coin is an absolute rarity. How this coin surfaced? The story behind that incident is still a myste

Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, and related objects. While numismatists are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, the discipline also includes the broader study of money and other payment media used to resolve debts and the exchange of goods. In this regard, I have considered myself as Numismatist as I have ample amount of collection of coins both loacally from the Philippines and abroad especially the United States of America. In this article, I will share to you one of the latest addition to my collection, the Pope Francis Commemorative Coin with both 50 Peso and 500 Peso face value. To commemorate the state and pastoral visit of Pope Francis, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) today announced the issuance of limited edition 50-piso and 500-piso papal coins. Both coins are legal tender and will be sold for P100.00 and P1,000.00, respectively, to cover production, packaging and other costs. Th