Philippine Currency
During the Second World War, there were very few coins and paper money produced but among the most popular are the guerrilla notes which made of small denomination with bills printed in series with bond paper or cigarette paper. At the end of this period, coins and paper money were struck. This was the migration to the new money system currently used from the Spanish-Hispanic denomination to the English denomination phase. This was beginning the most significant events in the monetary history of the Philippines which the Independence and the Third Republic. At this stage, the Central Bank was established. This begun the organizing positions for the preservation of the most comprehensive collection of Philippine coinage, currency, and medals.
The conclusion of the Spanish regime transferred the Philippines to the American sovereignty. During this period, the Philippine Republic was inaugurated. The first inauguration of the Philippine Republic featured the symbolic skipping of the first Philippine coins and currency and the launching of the first Philippine paper money and coins in 1898. This money was equivalent to the US occupied forces money, said by an unknown numismatist. He also mentioned that many of the scarce and rare coins of US administration in the Philippines were no doubt shipments of patterns from the US Mints. It was during this period that the US administration made plans to mint coins for the Philippines but was delayed in preparation for change in the coinage bronze. US mint centavos were finally minted in 1944 and the last of the US coinage was minted in 1945 consisting of 50 centavo regular issue and the 50 centavo proof.
During the Spanish Regime, the famous “Dos Mundos” were introduced. This name was given to the eventful coin of 1861 which virtually served as two different denominations. During the 19th century, the opening of the Philippines to world trade led to the importation of foreign coinage also to the requirements for currency in the far-flung military campaigns. This was a period of transitional coinage wherein old and new coinage circulated side by side.
This was followed by the Castilian coin which was the name used by the Spanish coin minted in the time of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. The coin was of such excellence that a German traveler of those early days in the Philippines remarked that it was the best in the universe, said by Don Conrado Benitez.
People at that time have already the satisfactory using the abaca cloth which they can exchange to things they want to, and then different metal were introduced through the Chinese people, in the form of small knives and thin iron bars. During this era, gold and slaves were also used as medium of exchange but as time goes on, the Muslim Numismatists introduced the Islamic and Far Eastern Coinage. These were cast in billon, an alloy of gold and silver.
The researcher chose this topic about Philippine money because it was remarkable. The entire history of the money changed the entire concept of using different kinds of mediums of exchange. It was seen from the Pre-Hispanic Era, Hispanic Era, Philippine Revolution, American Colonization, Japanese Money, and up to the present time
History of Philippine Money
One way of controlling the value of these oryas was to control the rarity of the metal used to produce them. For instance, Rajah Matanda attempted to control the production of oryas in the Manila area by placing a tax on Pampangos in the surrounding areas to force them to stop using the Piloncitos as it would be more precious due to being made of gold. There is also a brief recording of how the Spaniards greatly desired the gold Piloncitos. So much so that traders from other Asian countries would come to Philippine lands to get these oryas in order to trade for other rare Asian goods. This event could be considered as the first instance of balance of trade. (Girault, 1885; 15)
The evolution of Philippine currency used as a medium of exchange and to make payment before the adoption of currency evolved from a barter system, which is actually another form of theoretical money. Unlike the real coins and paper money that we know, barter is a trade of goods using other goods. Since the products to be traded are not always the same in value, some sort of equivalence of goods is established, usually using metal or a certain weight of the product. These metallic objects are what we call “orya,” and they were used to measure or compare the value of the different goods being traded. These oryas are the earliest form of money used in the islands, spanning as far back as 900 A.D. An example of these was found in the Mindoro and Masbate antique forms of silver.
Types of Philippine Currency
The Commonwealth of the Philippines attempted to achieve complete national sovereignty as was the case in the preparation to the independence of the country in 1946. Prior to 1935, the unit of the Philippine currency was no longer to be expressed in terms of silver, the minting of which the United States had stopped. After moving towards a passage of a Hare-Hawes-Cutting law, the Philippines negotiated for a better law to take the place of Hare-Hawes-Cutting act. This Act of the United States Congress approved on December 13, 1935, gave consent to the inauguration of a new Philippines constitution, which granted general authority and approval to the commonwealth government of the Philippines for the issue of its own currency.
Before the Philippines attained complete independence in 1946, the country’s currency was still under the control of the United States of America. The American-Filipino commonwealth sat from November 15, 1935, until July 4, 1946, featured two presidents of the Commonwealth of the Philippines and three presidential elections, and two types of currency.
Money is anything that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange, a unit of account, a store of value, and occasionally, a standard of deferred payment. Money encompasses different forms such as banknotes and coins. It is of great importance to have a stable and efficient currency system in the economy and throughout time currencies have gone through drastic change. This paper is going to focus on an overview of the currency evolution in the Philippines and to examine the currency reforms that played a significant role in shaping the history of the Philippine money.
