Philippine peso coins are issued by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for circulation in the
Philippines and are currently available in seven denominations.
History Both Spain and the United States struck coins
for the Philippines while the latter was their colony. Spanish issues were 1 peso, 2 pesos
and 4 pesos. Silver fractional coinage ran from 1864–1868 and again from 1880–1885
and were in the denominations of ten centavo, twenty centavo and fifty centavo.
The United States also struck coins for use in the Philippines from 1903 to 1945. Denominations
included the ½ centavo, one centavo, five centavo, 10 cen, 20 centavo, 50 centavo, and
one peso. The ½ and 1 centavo coins were struck in bronze, the 5 centavo struck in
Copper- Nickel(25%), the 10, 20, 50 centavo and peso coins were struck in a silver composition.
From 1903 to 1906, the silver coins had a silver content of 90%, while those struck
after 1906 had a reduced silver content of 75% for 10 through 50 centavos and 80% for
the peso. In both cases the silver was alloyed with copper.
The obverse of these coins remained largely unchanged during the years 1903 to 1945. The
½ centavo, one centavo, and five centavo coins depict a Filipino man kneeling against
an anvil, with a hammer resting at his side. He is on the left side, while on the right
side there is a simmering volcano, Mt. Mayon, topped with smoke rings. This figure is an
allegory for the hard work being done by the native peoples of the Philippines in building
their own future. The obverse of the 10, 20, 50 centavo, and
peso coins are similar, but they show the figure of Liberty, a standing female figure
in the act of striking the anvil with a hammer. This was done to show the work being done
by Americans in building a better Philippines. Liberty appears on the silver coins, instead
of the base metal coins. The reverse of the coins comes in two varieties.
The earliest coins were minted when the islands were a US Territory, and they bear the arms
of the US Territories. This is a broad winged eagle, sitting atop a shield divided into
two registers. The upper register has 13 stars, and the lower register has 13 vertical stripes.
The date appears at the bottom, and "United States of America" appears at the top.
When the islands became a US Commonwealth, the arms of the Commonwealth were adopted.
This seal is composed of a much smaller eagle with its wings pointed up, perched over a
shield with peaked corners, above a scroll reading "Commonwealth of the Philippines".
It is a much busier pattern, and widely considered less attractive.
Coins were minted at the Philadelphia, San Francisco, Denver, and Manila mints. Most
of the coins struck at the Manila mint occurred after 1925.
Proof sets were struck for collectors from 1903 to 1908. It is likely that a large majority
of these sets remained unsold at the time they were issued. The recorded mintage for
sets in 1905, 1906, and 1908 is a modest 500. Defenders of Corregidor threw a large number
of silver coins into the ocean, rather than allow the Japanese to accumulate this wealth.
A great deal of the booty was later recovered, but many of those were badly corroded.
Among the rarest coins in the U.S. Philippines series from the collectors' standpoint are
the 1906-S One Peso, the 1916-S Five Centavos, the 1918-S Five Centavo Mule, the 1903-S Twenty
Centavos and the 1915-S One Centavo. Three Commemorative coins were minted to celebrate
the Commonwealth in 1936. They show President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Commonwealth President
Manuel L. Quezon and U.S. High Commissioner Frank Murphy, who also has served as the last
Governor General of the Islands. The 50 Centavo commemorative has a reported mintage of 20,000
pieces, was struck in 75% silver, and weighs 10 grams. The two varieties of One Peso commemorative
had reported mintages of 10,000 pieces. They weigh 20 grams, and are 90% silver.
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. In 1958, the 20 centavos was replaced with
a 25 centavos and all coins were resized to be the same diameter as their US equivalents,
albeit in more base metals, other than the centavo. The same seated man with anvil and
volcano or standing liberty with anvil and volcano designs were retained for the obverses
while the seal of the Central Bank of the Philippines dominated the reverse. These coins
were minted by the Philadelphia Mint from 1958 through 1963, and then by the Royal Mint
in England and the Vereinigte Deutsche Metallweke in West Germany in 1965 and 1966. In view
of all subsequent issues using the Tagalog language, this coinage is often referred to
as the "English Series" since it uses the English language.
The next series was introduced in 1967, introducing images of various Philippine national heroes,
and the use of the Tagalog language, hence being called the "Pilipino Series." The sizes
of the coins were reduced. These coins were struck by the various US mints, except for
some 50 centavos pieces dated 1972 which were minted in Singapore, and a couple commemorative
issues struck by the Sherritt Mint in Canada. In 1972 the one peso denomination was reintroduced.
In commemoration of Fedinand Marcos' declaration of Martial Law, a new series of coinage was
issued in 1975, referred to as the Ang Bagong Lipunan Series. The 50 sentimo was done away
with as a denomination and a new 5 peso issue took its place. A variety of mints provided
these coins, including the Royal Mint in England and the Vereinigte Deutsche Metallweke in
West Germany, Philadelphia and San Francisco mints in the US, the Franklin Mint, the Sherritt
Mint in Canada, and finally the Philippine's own mint, once it was opened and able to produce
coinage. From this point on, the Philippine Mint produced nearly all Philippine coinage.
After eight years, the Ang Bagong Lipunan series gave way to a new series titled the
Flora and Fauna Series, in which the coins, in addition to featuring various Philippine
national heroes as before, also began featuring various plant and animal life forms native
to the Philippines. The 50 Sentimo and 2 Piso denominations were reintroduced, which latter
had not been struck as a coin since the Spanish had struck it in gold. The 5 Piso denomination
was stopped, but resumed concurrent to the final four years of the Flora and Fauna Series
which featured reduced sizes for all denominations. The Flora and Fauna Series was struck from
1983 through 1994. In 1995 the New BSP Series was introduced,
which remains the current coinage of the Philippines. Only this current series of coins are legal
tender as of January 2, 1998, when the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas issued BSP Circular No.
81 which called for the demonetization of all previous existing Central Bank coins minted
before 1995. Recently, fake 10- and 5-piso coins dating
2001 and 2002 have entered circulation. Because of this, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas issued
a warning and several security measures on importing and falsifying Philippine coins.
And it is because the BSP has announced that there is an artificial shortage of coins last
June 2006. The BSP has asked the public to use all small coins or to have them exchanged
for banknotes in local banks or other financial institution.
In December 2008 a Philippine Congress resolution called for the retirement and demonetization
of all coins less than 1 Piso. Formerly circulating coins
The Philippines under U.S. Sovereignty Commonwealth Issues
In 1935 when the Commonwealth was established by the Congress of the United States, they
issued a three-piece commemorative set to commemorate the occasion. In 1937 the Commonwealth
Arms were adapted to all circulating coinage. Commonwealth Commemorative Issues
English Series In 1958, a new, entirely base metal coinage
was introduced, consisting of bronze 1 centavo, brass 5 centavos and nickel-brass 10, 25 and
50 centavos. Pilipino Series
In 1969, the coinage was altered to reflect the use of Filipino names for the currency
units. 1-piso coins were introduced in 1971 Ang Bagong Lipunan Series
In 1974, the "Ang Bagong Lipunan" series, was introduced with the ₱5 coins included.
Aluminium replaced bronze and cupro-nickel replaced nickel-brass that year.
Flora and Fauna Series The Flora and Fauna series was introduced
in 1983 which included ₱2 coins. The sizes of the coins were reduced and ₱5 coins were
reintroduced in 1991, with the production of 50-sentimo and ₱2 coins ceasing in 1994.
Circulating coins Current legal tender commemorative coins
On December 9, 2011, The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas issued a commemorative one-peso
coin in celebration with the 150th Birth Anniversary of José Rizal. The coins are in the same
dimensions as the circulating one peso coins with Rizal's profile on the front instead
of the side. The new coin also has the new logo of the central bank and is legal tender
with the current series. On December 18, 2013, The Bangko Sentral ng
Pilipinas issued a commemorative ten-peso coin in celebration with the 150th Birth Anniversary
of Andres Bonifacio. The coins are in the same dimensions but the design changed. These
also featured the new logo of the central bank and is also legal tender.
References ^ All mintage numbers are from Red Book A
Guide Book of United States Coins, page # ^ All year dates and mint mark denominations
are from Red Book A Guide Book of United States Coins, page #
^ All mintage numbers are from Red Book A Guide Book of United States Coins, page #
^ All year dates and mint mark denominations are from Red Book A Guide Book of United States
Coins, page # ^ [1]
All of these coins bore a single reverse design, the federal shield surmounted by an American
eagle clutching an olive branch in its right claw and a bundle of arrows in its left. Around
this appeared the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the date of coinage. The obverse
of the minor coins featured the semi-nude figure of an adolescent native, seated at
an anvil and holding a hammer in his right hand. In the distance is seen the smoking
volcano of Mt. Mayon, located on the main island of Luzon. The statement of value appears
above him in English, while the name of the archipelago is written below in Spanish as
FILIPINAS. This employment of Spanish is curious, given the islands’ recent history, yet it
remained for some years afterward the principal language of the educated class. For the silver
coins, the standing figure of an adolescent female was utilized. She is clad in a long,
flowing gown and holds in her right hand a hammer, resting atop an anvil, as seen on
the minor coins. Behind her is again Mt. Mayon, an almost perfectly conical volcanic mountain
northeast of the capital city of Manila. These designs are credited to Filipino sculptor
Melecio Figueroa, who lived just long enough to see his coins enter circulation.
^ [2] The transition from protectorate to commonwealth,
which occurred November 15, 1935, was commemorated on a set of three coins dated 1936-M. The
fifty-centavo piece shows facing portraits of outgoing Governor-General Frank Murphy
and incoming President Manuel Quezon. They are portrayed again on one of the peso coins,
this time in profile, their busts overlapping. This same configuration is used for the other
one-peso commemorative, but on its obverse the subjects are President Quezon and President
of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt. This is a very rare instance of a living U.
S. president appearing on a United States coin. The common reverse for all three coins
depicted the arms of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. Featuring elements symbolic of
Spain, The USA and the islands themselves, it was adopted as the common reverse for all
regular-issue coins beginning in 1937. ^ [3]
All of these coins bore a single reverse design, the federal shield surmounted by an American
eagle clutching an olive branch in its right claw and a bundle of arrows in its left. Around
this appeared the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the date of coinage. The obverse
of the minor coins featured the semi-nude figure of an adolescent native, seated at
an anvil and holding a hammer in his right hand. In the distance is seen the smoking
volcano of Mt. Mayon, located on the main island of Luzon. The statement of value appears
above him in English, while the name of the archipelago is written below in Spanish as
FILIPINAS. This employment of Spanish is curious, given the islands’ recent history, yet it
remained for some years afterward the principal language of the educated class. For the silver
coins, the standing figure of an adolescent female was utilized. She is clad in a long,
flowing gown and holds in her right hand a hammer, resting atop an anvil, as seen on
the minor coins. Behind her is again Mt. Mayon, an almost perfectly conical volcanic mountain
northeast of the capital city of Manila. These designs are credited to Filipino sculptor
Melecio Figueroa, who lived just long enough to see his coins enter circulation.
^ "BSP to Issue One-Piso Commemorative Rizal Coin in December". Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
Retrieved 2011-12-30. External links
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