The 1894 One Centavo of Alfonso XIII

This very rare Spanish-Philippine coin was sold for 15, 500 euros as lot 1083 in the December auction of Cayon Numismatica and is considered as one of the most elusive coins of Philippine numismatic. The coins of one and two cents of weight, minted in Madrid at the hands of Bartolomé Maura, were made by order of 15 December 1893. The Decree refers to "lack of copper currency adjusted to the legal system" which encourages coining full retail. Shall be "the new pieces of copper one and two cents of weight, equivalent, as the silver 10 and 20 cents, which circulate in the Peninsula (...) Most all of these fractional coins will be legal tender...

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1762 One Real with F70 counterstamp: A Unique Specimen Of Counterstamped Minor Coins

Counterstamped minor coin is one of the hardest to acquire in the hobby of collecting counterstamp coins.  Dr. Pablo De Jesus and Dr. Fortirch have listed counterstamped minor coins among the top variety of counterstamp coins that are hard to come by in the market.  Among the four (4) denominations other than 8 reales, only three (3) namely: four (4) reales, two (2) reales, and one (1) real counterstamped coins have appeared in the market since the collecting began in the early days of the 20th century in the Philippines.  Among them, only the four (4) and two (2) reales have been documented to bear both King Ferdinand VII and...

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New Rizal 1-Piso now in circulation

New Jose Rizal one-peso coins the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas minted to commemorate the 150th Birth Anniversary of the country’s national hero have begun circulating through the financial system.The coins are of the same size and weight as the one-peso coin now in circulation —24 millimeters in diameter at 5.35 grams. On the side of Rizal's portrait is etched "150 years" and "1861-2011".On the face of the grayish, nickel-plated coin is the portrait of Rizal, with the words “150 years,” “Republika ng Pilipinas,” and the years “1861-2011” etched on it. The reverse side carries the new BSP seal, “1-piso,” and “2011”.The new Rizal coin still...

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PILONCITOS: The treasure of Philippine numismatic

Piloncitos is the earliest form of precious metal based currency of the Philippines. It is likely made of pure gold with a weight ranging between .5 grams to more or less than 3 grams.Piloncitos is not exclusively found in the Philippines as most collectors and local historians have agrees. Similar type of gold can be found in some regions of Indonesia which they call massa.The earliest written account of Piloncitos was made by our national hero, Jose Rizal himself. According to Rizal, he found the gold nugget while tilling the soil of Dapitan. He himself coined the word piloncitos, which basically describe the coin's unusual shape....

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Banknotes and coins: The 'calling cards of the nation

Money talk brings about certain moods. We get sad and irritated when there's a lack of it, giddy when we receive crisp bills as "pamasko," proud with a glint in the eye when we have too much of it, and always frustrated when the bills have to be paid.But during the Jose Rizal Lecture at the 2011 Philippine PEN (Poets and Playwrights, Essayists, and Novelists) Conference, historian and author Ambeth Ocampo made his audience smile without throwing cash at them, instead making them ponder about how our banknotes—the "common, everyday things" we fish out of wallets and pockets—speak about us Filipinos.Ocampo, considered an "expert" on all things Rizal, called bills and coins "calling cards of a country.""They tell a story, they're an official view of history," he said at the conference...

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BSP to introduce 100-M crisp banknotes in the coming month

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas will introduce into circulation a hundred million new generation currency (NGC) banknotes in time for the Christmas holiday season when crisp peso bills are all the rage, especially with children who get money as their aguinaldo.These peso bills will be added to the almost 300 million currency notes already in circulation. Recently, the New Generation banknote won a top international prize in a recent design competition held in Singapore.Despite the effort of the government to familiarize the public regarding these notes, several complains are being received by the BSP including the notes unattractive design which can be considered ironic in spite of the recent award it bagged.The public is also being warned that counterfeit money will be out again in mass...

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