Coins of the Philippine peso

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 (all gold from 1861–1868 and again in 1880-1885). 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 nickel, 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 80%.

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 (foreground), while on the right side (background) 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...
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