Saturday, June 27, 2009

The Japanese Occupation (1942 - 1945) Last Issue

As inflation crept in, the Japanese printed banknotes in larger denominations. This bill is the last of the third series (1944-5) It was printed just before their surrender in 1945.

Due to dwindling resources, this banknote is smaller than the others and is printed on cheap paper, the reason why the blue ink at the front bleeds through the back.




Five Hundred pesos banknote issued in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation.

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One Thousand pesos banknote issued in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation.

The Japanese Occupation (1942 - 1945) 2nd Issue

This is the 2nd issue of Japanese Occupation Year (1943).The front of the bill features the Rizal monument.
Note* This is the complete series of the 2nd Issue




One peso banknote issued in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation.

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Five pesos banknote issued in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation.

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Ten pesos banknote issued in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation.

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One hundred pesos banknote issued in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation.

Friday, June 26, 2009

The Japanese Occupation (1942 - 1945) 1st Issue

The outbreak of World War II caused serious disturbances in the Philippine monetary system. Two kinds of notes circulated in the country during this period. The Japanese Occupation Forces issued war notes in big denominations. Provinces and municipalities, on the other hand, issued their own guerrilla notes or resistance currencies, most of which were sanctioned by the Philippine government in-exile, and partially redeemed after the war.

Note* This is the first issue of Japanese Occupation Year (1942) 1Peso and 5 Pesos are not included on my collection hope that i can found them soon.




One centavo banknote issued in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation.

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Five centavos banknote issued in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation.

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Ten centavos banknote issued in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation.

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Fifty centavos banknote issued in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation.

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Ten pesos banknote issued in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

History of Philippine Money

History of Philippine Money - from gold barter rings and piloncitos, to ornaments and beads used by ancient Filipinos as medium of exchange during pre-Hispanic period, up to the present banknotes and coins. Some of the coins that circulated during the three centuries of Spanish rule, such as, the toston or four reales coins, brought by Magellan and his men to the Philippines in 1521; dos mundos or pillar dollars in silver; the fractional coin, barilla in copper and the portrait series bearing the busts of Spain's Royalty.

An array of counterstamped coins with FVII (Ferdinand VII) and YII (Isabel II) symbolized the authority of Spain over the Philippines.When Casa de Moneda de Manila began minting coins in 1861, the name "Filipinas" appeared for the first time on its coins. The Mint issued series of silver and gold coins until 1868, covering the reign of Isabel II and Alfonso XII were referred to as Isabelinas and Alfonsinos.

Young Alfonso XIII was the last Spanish monarch to grace the obverse of Philippine coins. The Spanish-Philippine peso coins bearing his bust, which were minted solely for use in the islands were last minted in 1877 and last circulated in 1904.

The establishment of El Banco Espanol Filipino de Isabel II marked a significant chapter in the development of Philippine numismatics. It was the country's first commercial bank and in 1852, it issued the pesos fuertes, the first banknotes used in the country. The Bank is known today as the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI).

Amid the luster of gold and silver coins in Philippine numismatics was the issuance in 1899 of the 2-centavo copper coin by he first Philippine Republic, a manifestation of the persistent quest of our forefathers for independence. However, this was short-lived, for the Philippines found itself again under another foreign power, the Americans. The coins issued during this period carried the design of the American eagle and that of the lady with the anvil, symbolic of industrialization, which the Americans introduced in the country. In 1916, the Philippine National Bank (PNB)opened to the public; thus BPI and PNB notes circulated along with silver and treasury certificates issued by the U.S authorities in Manila.

The Commonwealth period showed a promise of independence, but this was stalled shortly when World War II broke out. When the Japanese imperial Army occupied the country in 1941, Japanese Invasion Money (JIM) were issued by the government. However, various resistance movements around the country defied Japanese authority by ignoring their money. The Filipinos then issued their own guerilla notes or resistance currencies, which were valid only in certain localities.

The "Victory" overprint on the old treasury certificates signaled the end of the war. Independence was finally attained in 1946. The same victory notes were issued to announce the establishment of the Central Bank with the words, "Central Bank of the Philippines" overprinted on the certificates. On January 3, 1949, the Central Bank of the Philippines (CBP) was established and by 1951, it began circulating its own currency of English series notes pronted by Thomas De La Rue in England.

In 1967, the Pilipino Series notes, were introduced, showing portraits if Filipino heroes and vignettes of Philippine history with a watermark portrait of the hero. By 1978, the Security Plant Complex (SPC) with facilities for printing, minting and gold refinery was established. The first banknotes printed were the Ang Bagong Lipunan series (ABL), followed in 1985 by the New Design series,
with the subsequent addition of the 500 and 1000 piso notes in 1987 and 1991 respectively.

The first coins issued by the Central Bank were the English series minted at the U.S mint in Philadelphia from 1958 to 1963 and the Royal Mint of London and Vereinigte Metalwerke of West Germany from 1964 to 1966. In 1967, the Pilipino series, featuring national heroes was introduced. This was followed by the ABL series in 1975, the first coins minted at the SPC, and the flora and fauna series in 1983. With the establishment of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in 1993, a new set of coins and notes, the BSP series was issued in 1995 showing the logo of the new BSP.

The Story of Money

Money is an essential component of trade and commerce, which in turn are important aspects of human history. Money then is an important current which runs through the stream of history. Its story is a reflection of the story of humanity itself.

All early trade was based on barter, with commodities such as cattle exchange for grain, salt, foodstuffs, woven fabric, beads or precious metals. As individual cultures developed over the centuries, a need arose to standardize units of value to enable different groups to trade with one another. Money, thus, evolved from commonly bartered goods into more practical means of exchange, using metal and eventually, paper money.

Man's earliest forms of money were often things he could eat, wear, decorate himself with, ride on or use for other purposes.