"Saan aabot ang piso mo?"
Due to inflation, the value of money changes. What you can buy before for One Peso is no longer the same.
Today's coins in circulation are commonly made of Nickel or mixed with other metals such as Copper or Zinc. Whereas before, it was Gold and Silver. These coins were widespread until the 20th century when the world moved to fiat money.
Do you know what the word Peso means? It's the currency unit of the Philippines and other former colonies of Spain. Per Wikipedia, the word Peso is a Spanish word that means "Weight!". However, during the colonial period, Peso is not widely used. The Peso is also known as the Real, the Spanish monetary unit.
Since the Philippines was a former colonial territory of Spain and the United States of America, what were the minted One Peso Gold and Silver Coins of the Philippines for circulation?
SPANISH PHILIPPINE COINS:
When Spain colonized the Philippines in 1565, they brought their currency and monetary system. For centuries under Spain, the Philippines has had no currencies of its own, like other Spanish colonial territories such as Mexico. But there were known locally struck coins such as Barilla, Octavos, and Quartos. However, most coins circulating in the Philippines, especially gold and silver, are from Spain, other Spanish colonial territories, or other countries. One of the famous Spanish coins was the 8 Reales or Spanish Dollar.
But in 1857, the construction began for the first Philippine Mint named Real Casa de la Moneda y Timbre de Manila. And in 1861, the Philippines started minting its Peso currency coins. One Peso gold coin was minted from 1861 to 1868, with the other two denominations of Two and Four Peso gold coins. The obverse of the gold coins shows the bust of the current ruling monarch, and the Spanish coat of arms with the word "Filipinas" in reverse. The minting of these One Peso gold coins lasted until 1868, when a revolution erupted in Spain, and the Spanish monarch was deposed. But there were additional gold coins dated 1868 minted from 1868 to 1873 per the site Numista.
Isabella II 1 Peso, 2 Peso and 4 Peso Gold Coins
After the restoration of the Spanish monarch, the next One Peso coin minted by Spain was silver. When King Alfonso XIII inherited the Spanish throne from his father in 1886, in 1897, the Spanish Mint minted the first and the last silver One Peso coin for circulation in the Philippines. See Spanish Philippine 1897 UN Peso Coin.
Alfonso III 1897 UN Peso Silver Coin
For numismatic collectors, the Isabella II gold and 1897 UN Peso are commonly seen for sale today. You can purchase Isabella II One Peso gold and Alfonso XIII UN Peso coins for a minimum of 8000 PHP. Depending on the year, condition and demand, the prices vary.
U.S. PHILIPPINE COINS:
When Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States of America, the U.S. inherited the existing monetary system. With the issues and concerns on the system, the Americans replaced it with the gold standard similar to the U.S. in 1903 when the U.S. Congress approved the Coinage Act of the Philippines. U.S. Mints minted a new set of coins for the Philippines from the lowest denomination, a 1/2 centavo copper coin locally known as Kusing, to One Peso silver coin.
1903 to 1912 One Peso Silver Coins
Minting of the One Peso lasted only from 1903 to 1912, so there are only ten series of these coins, which at one point changed. From 1903 to 1906, the One Peso coin size was 38 mm with 90% silver content. However, due to high silver prices in 1906, the newly minted 1906 One Peso coins were recalled, with only a few remaining in circulation. The succeeding Peso coin size and silver content changed to 35 mm and 80% silver content from 1907 up to 1912.
1903 vs 1907 One Peso Silver Coin
The One Peso coins are very popular with numismatic collectors, local or foreign. One of the unique features of a "USPI" coin is that it bears the names of two countries, the word Filipinas on one side and the United States of America on the other.
The current prices of these Peso coins range from 650 PHP to 25000 PHP and above, depending on the year, condition, and variety. The collector's favorite and hard-to-find One Peso coins are the 1906-S, 1904-P, 1905-S (straight/curve), 1911-S, and 1912-S
With the establishment of the Philippine Commonwealth on November 15, 1935, a new set of coins were minted. But the highest denomination was 50 Centavos. The only Peso coins minted were two One Peso coins as a commemorative. See Philippine Commemorative Coins - Commonwealth.
1936 Commemorative Coins
To know more about these USPI coins, check out the book USPI by Eldrich Yap and Janssen Bantugan.
Alrighty!!! How about you? How is your One Peso Gold and Silver Coins of the Philippines collection?
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