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.
PRE-HISPANIC ERA
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.
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.Japanese
Occupation
The Americans instituted a monetary system for the Philippine
based on gold and pegged the Philippine peso to the American dollar
at the ratio of 2:1. The US Congress approved the Coinage Act for
the Philippines in 1903.
The coins issued under the system bore the designs of Filipino
engraver and artist, Melecio Figueroa. Coins in denomination of
one-half centavo to one peso were minted. The renaming of El Banco
Espanol Filipino to Bank of the Philippine Islands in 1912 paved
the way for the use of English from Spanish in all notes and coins
issued up to 1933. Beginning May 1918, treasury certificates
replaced the silver certificates series, and a one-peso note was
added.
PeriodAmerican
After World War II, the Philippines gained its independence and
adopted the Peso after gaining independence. The Piso replaced the
Peso in 1962, and is divisible into 100 Sentimos (Centavos).The
occupying Japanese government issued fiat currency in several
denominations known asJapanese government-issued Philippine fiat
peso. The Japanese-sponsored Second Philippine Republic under Jose
P. Laurel out lawed possession of guerrilla currency and declared a
monopolyon the issuance of money and anyone found to possess
guerrilla notes could be arrested. Due to the fiat nature of the
currency, the Philippine economy felt the effects of
hyperinflation. The Filipinos called the fiat peso,"Mickey Mouse"
money, due to the fact that it was similar to play money and next
to worthless. Many survivors of the war tell stories of going to
the market laden with suitcases or "bayong" (native bags made of
woven bamboo strips) overflowing with the Japanese-issued bills.
75Mickey Mousepesos, or about 35 U.S. dollars at that time, could
buy one duck egg. In 1944, a box of matches cost more than
100Mickey Mousepesos
Postwar Period During World War II, the Japanese issued Military
Gumpyo Pesos (PHJ) at par with the Philippine Peso which continued
to circulate; however, Philippine forces had withdrawn into the
jungle, and issued their own Guerilla Pesos (PHG), redeemable in
paper Pesos after the war was over. The Japanese made use of the
Guerilla Pesos punishable by death, but since this would have led
to the collapse of the Philippine economy, local Japanese
authorities acquiesced and often allowed the Guerilla Pesos to
circulate. During the war, the Japanese Military peso depreciated
relative to the Commonwealth Peso with the conversion rate
declining from 1.25 PHJ = 1 PHP by May 15, 1943 to 1.44:1 in June
1943, 20:1 in July 1944 and 120:1 in January 1945. The Ballantyne
Scale was adopted by the Congress of the Philippines in 1945 to
calculate these conversion.rates.
Central Bank Note TheEnglish Serieswere Philippine banknotes
that circulated from 1949 to 1969. It was the only banknote series
of thePhilippine pesoto use English as the language. ThePilipino
seriesbanknotes is the name used to refer toPhilippinebanknotes
issued by theCentral Bank of the Philippinesfrom 1969 to 1973,
during the term ofPresidentFerdinand Marcos. It was succeeded by
theAng Bagong Lipunan Seriesof banknotes, to which it shared a
similar design. The lowest denomination of the series is 1-pisoand
the highest is 100-piso. This series represented a radical change
from theEnglish series. The bills underwent Filipinization and a
design change. The banknotes first issued by today'sBangko Sentral
ng Pilipinas(formerly the "Central Bank of the Philippines") were
the VICTORY-CBP Overprints in 1949, which were merely overprints of
older American-era banknotes. The first official banknote series to
be printed were the English Series in 1951.
After the declaration ofProclamation 1081by PresidentFerdinand
Marcoson September 23, 1972, the Central Bank was to demonetize the
existing banknotes in 1974, pursuant to Presidential Decree 378.
All the unissuedPilipino Seriesbanknotes (exceptone pesobanknote)
were sent back to theDe La Rueplant inLondonfor overprinting the
watermark area with the words "ANG BAGONG LIPUNAN" and oval
geometric safety design. The one peso bill was replaced with thetwo
peso bill, which features the same elements of the demonetized
Pilipino series one peso bill.On September 7, 1978, the Security
Printing Plant inQuezon Citywas inaugurated to produce the
banknotes. And a minor change of its BSP seal.The banknotes were
still legal tender even after the introduction of theNew Design
Seriesbanknotes, however it is seldom used after theEDSA
Revolution. The banknotes were eventually demonetized on February
2, 1993 (but can still be exchange with legal tender currency to
the Central Bank until February 2, 1996)after clamors that the
banknotes can be used to buy votes for the1992 Presidential
Elections.
TheAng Bagong Lipunanseries(literally, TheNew SocietySeries") is
the name used to refer toPhilippinebanknotesissued by theCentral
Bank of the Philippines from 1973 to 1985. It was succeeded by
theNew Design seriesof banknotes. The lowest denomination of the
series is 2-pisoand the highest is 100-piso.Bagong Lipunan
Money
In 2009, theBangko Sentral ng Pilipinasannounced that it will
launch a massive redesign for the banknotes and coins to further
enhance security features and to improve durability.The members of
the numismatic committee included Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor
Diwa Guinigundo and Dr.Ambeth Ocampo, chairman of the National
Historical Institute. Designed by Studio 5 Designs and Design
Systemat, the new banknotes' designs features famous Filipinos and
iconic natural wonders. Philippine national symbols will be
depicted on coins. The BSP started releasing the initial batch of
new banknotes in December 2010. On December 16, 2010, the new
design for Philippine banknotes were released. The use font for
letter wasmyriadand the numbers areTw Cen font.
New Generation Currency series
Pia Samantha T. Daseco