The Philippine Currency: Complete with History from the Pre-Hispanic Era to the Revolution and the Peso Denomination!

The Philippines has experienced various developments from the pre-Hispanic era to the creation of the Philippine Republic. Based on its history, the Philippines divides it into several periods to reflect the current picture of power.

The developments that occurred in the Philippines illustrate the journey that the Philippines has gone through to achieve its current independence, there are many things that have experienced changes and developments, one of which is the Philippine currency. To find out more information about the Philippine currency, see the article below!

History of Philippine Currency

The Philippine currency is divided into several periods to show a picture of the power that was currently happening in the Philippines. The following are some of the historical periods of the Philippine currency:

The Pre-Hispanic Era

In 1521 the Filipinos traded with merchants from China and other neighboring countries. At this time, buying and selling of goods still used the barter system, and experienced developments using cowry shells as a medium of exchange.

Cowry shells are made with basic materials such as jade, wood, quartz to gold. According to ancient history in the Philippines, exchange rates are also used with barter rings, namely rings made of pure gold with sizes that are usually larger than donuts. The medium of exchange grew, giving rise to piloncitos as the first local coin to be made. This coin was made of pure gold and was used until the Spanish era came.

Era of Spanish Occupation

It was during this era that the Spanish came to the Philippines and introduced coins called macuquinas and cobs. The Philippine currency has changed into coins made of silver.

In 1726, the Philippine currency underwent another change in the form of coins and banknotes where the production of columnarios or dos mundos (two worlds) currency occurred, silver coins also began to be printed using machine tools. The dos mundos currency is synonymous with its beautiful and practical appearance, this money is also a symbol of Spanish rule over the old world and the new world.

Revolutionary Era

The Philippine currency underwent a new currency change with the presence of revolutionaries to replace the Spanish-Philippine pesos. The leadership under General Emilio Aguinaldo resulted in the issuance of coins and notes under the malolos constitution.

The Philippine currency is denominated in value classification with denominations of 1,5 and 10 pesos and is signed by Pedro Paterno, Mariano Limjap and Telesforo. Nonetheless, in 1898 the revolutionary currency was deemed illegal and withdrawn from circulation in society

American Occupation Era

In 1901 the United States, which succeeded in controlling the Philippines, created a new currency, at which time modern banking, credit systems and currencies began to emerge which made the Philippines a prosperous country at that time. The Philippine currency during the American occupation era used the gold standard and the Philippine peso with a ratio of 2 pesos per USD, this value was valid until the country experienced independence in 1946.

Japanese Occupation Era

After World War II had an impact on all countries in the world and caused disruption to the monetary system, during that time Japan, which occupied the Philippines, issued two notes. These notes were given the nickname “Mickey Mouse” because they had large denominations when inflation was especially bad.

Era of the Republic of the Philippines

In 1949, finally the Philippines established its own central bank and introduced a new Philippine currency. This currency is known as the first currency with a British banknote series, then in the 1960s there was the adoption of the Filipino language on the currency.

This currency had a value classification or denomination of 1,5,10,20, 100 to 1969 pesos in 1973. It continued until 2, when the government issued banknotes with the Ang Bagong Lipunan (ABL) series with the lowest value classification being 100 pesos and the highest being XNUMX. pesos.

Peso Currency Fractions

The Philippine peso currency is divided into two types, namely banknotes and coins. Currently, peso banknotes have denominations of 20,50,100,200,500, 1.000, XNUMX, XNUMX, XNUMX and XNUMX pesos. Where all the banknotes are coated with bright color notes and pictures of famous people or historical figures in the Philippines, it doesn't stop there that the peso currency is decorated with the country's rich flora and fauna.

In 2016 a 100 peso note was printed decorated with a purple color, then in 2019 the BSP stated that the 20 peso note would turn into a coin. The next peso denomination is the coin, which has denominations of 1,5,10, 25, XNUMX and XNUMX pesos. This coin has a new design with protrusions on both sides of the coin.

That's an explanation about the Philippine currency which can add information about the history of financial developments in the Philippines. Hopefully this information can be useful!