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 inherits the qualities of the previously minted 1-Piso coin which is magnetic. This is in relation to the government's counter smuggling policy where 1-Piso were being smuggled to China for its metal content especially copper.

The new coin is the latest legal tender issued by the BSP, which has been replacing its old set of banknotes and coins with the "New Generation" currency series

But unlike the new paper bills, which were found to contain various inaccuracies in their depiction of Philippine wildlife and geography, the new Rizal coin has so far met no serious criticism from the general public. Some are asking, however, why they were issued towards the end of the 150-year celebrations and not, say, on Rizal's 150 birthday itself, June 19.

Others have questioned why Rizal adorns a low-value coin. But lower denominations are usually thought to signify greater stature because of their wider circulation. There was a ripple of controversy some years ago when Emilio Aguinaldo replaced Andres Bonifacio on the five-peso currency. Bonifacio's visage now shares the ten-peso coin with Apolinario Mabini's, which some may think is a step down for the father of the Katipunan, who was executed in a power struggle with Aguinaldo.

BSP spokesperson Fe M. Dela Cruz told GMA News Online that as soon as word got out that the new coins were going to be issued, the central bank got a flood of inquiries and requests for allocations.

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. They are round and stamped with what looks like the pre-Spanish baybayin character “ma,” leading historians to guess that it could be short for “Ma-I.


Even before the Thai moved southward from their original home in China, the lucrative sea trade between the South China Sea and the Bay of Bengal established several maritime empires such as Sailendra-Srivijaya and Majapahit, which controlled coastal areas of modern Indonesia, Burma, Malaya, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

In an era before coined money was widely used, Indo-Pacific beads were made first at a site called Aakmidu in South India ca. 200 BC. The manufacture then moved in sequence to Ceylon, South Thailand, Java and finally Malaya. By about 1200-1300 AD the larger Majopahit beads, excavated today in the interior of Java, had supplanted it. Since these factory sites have been dated, archaeologists now use the beads to date sites, though whether beads rose to the level of metals, salt, cloth, and cowries as "standard" trade goods is uncertain.

The first indigenous metallic coinage in the region, ca. 750-850 AD, comes from the Javanese kingdom of Sailendra (Chinese: Ho-ling). These roughly dome-shaped silver of irregular weight bore stamps of a flowing vase, and the sandalwood flower (quatefoil). By 850 AD weights had been standardized at 20 rattis to a Massa of about 2.4 grams. Silver and gold coins of Massa and fractional denominations were issued until about 1300 AD, with changes in shape and quality of inscription marking periods of issue. The gold Piloncitos of the Philippines are a late offshoot of the gold coinage, while the beanlike silver "namo" series, of the Malay isthmus was presumably an offshoot of the silver and may have evolved into the bullet (pod-duang) coinage of Sukothai in Thailand.

Past local numismatist like Dra. Anita Legarda and Gilbert Perez made some research regarding this coin but only few specimen were found and no further study nor specimen have surfaced recently aside from those what have been found.

What fascinates historians and numismatists alike is why piloncito can only be found in the Philippines and unlike its counterpart gold massa that are vastly present in the Southeast Asian region.

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 held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines last December 2. "But banknotes are such common, everyday objects that we don't notice them."

When we do, it's to criticize, he said, noting how the New Generation bills launched last year drew flak for "faulty" designs, particularly the "geographically wrong" map of the Philippines printed at the back of the 1,000-peso bill.

Ocampo, who was "the only outsider" on the Numismatic Committee of the Bangko Sentral of the Philippines (BSP) that recommended approval of the bills, offered in good humor: "You can blame me," which he withdrew by saying "I'm always consulted but I'm never really listened to."

And while he agreed with President Benigno Aquino III, who countered criticisms by noting that you wouldn't consult a thousand-peso bill for directions, the historian pointed out that these little matters—like lost islands that you won't notice in a map at first glance—show how unsure we are of ourselves, especially in our claim over territories like the Spratlys and Sabah.

"Just to show you how different we are from Indonesia: the back of their 100,000 bill has a map. When you look at [it], the map in their money has Papua New Guinea and Malaysia in it. They actually claim it. They're very secure about themselves and what they own.

In the Philippines, not only don't we know the exact number [of our islands], we also don't put disputed territories in it," he said, adding that what goes into the map is something that "should be discussed."

Faces of heroes

Ocampo also discussed the faces that defined our currencies, which he said reflected "what we tend to think of ourselves."

He shared the pitch he made when he was first told about the BSP coming up with the new generation currency: get rid of all its current "faces," replace them with "people who are younger—no more 19th century heroes."

"And I said, 'Why don't we put artists and writers?' The Central Bank, of course, said no. They refused to look at it," he said. "It would have been a way for people to learn about their artists and their writers."

Saying that they didn't have time with the buzz of the upcoming elections, the BSP retained all the faces in the notes—save for the inclusion of former President Cory Aquino in the 500-peso bill and the removal of Gloria Arroyo at the back of the 200-peso bill.

Ocampo, who was "the only outsider" on the Numismatic Committee of the Bangko Sentral of the Philippines (BSP) that recommended approval of the bills, offered in good humor: "You can blame me," which he withdrew by saying "I'm always consulted but I'm never really listened to."

And while he agreed with President Benigno Aquino III, who countered criticisms by noting that you wouldn't consult a thousand-peso bill for directions, the historian pointed out that these little matters—like lost islands that you won't notice in a map at first glance—show how unsure we are of ourselves, especially in our claim over territories like the Spratlys and Sabah.

"Just to show you how different we are from Indonesia: the back of their 100,000 bill has a map. When you look at [it], the map in their money has Papua New Guinea and Malaysia in it. They actually claim it. They're very secure about themselves and what they own.

In the Philippines, not only don't we know the exact number [of our islands], we also don't put disputed territories in it," he said, adding that what goes into the map is something that "should be discussed."

Faces of heroes

Ocampo also discussed the faces that defined our currencies, which he said reflected "what we tend to think of ourselves."

He shared the pitch he made when he was first told about the BSP coming up with the new generation currency: get rid of all its current "faces," replace them with "people who are younger—no more 19th century heroes."

"And I said, 'Why don't we put artists and writers?' The Central Bank, of course, said no. They refused to look at it," he said. "It would have been a way for people to learn about their artists and their writers."

Saying that they didn't have time with the buzz of the upcoming elections, the BSP retained all the faces in the notes—save for the inclusion of former President Cory Aquino in the 500-peso bill and the removal of Gloria Arroyo at the back of the 200-peso bill.

Regardless of whether Rizal's presence in the one-peso coin is a step down or a mode of remembrance, Ocampo noted the result of a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey conducted early this year, which showed that "as far as the people are concerned, Rizal is their National Hero."

Ocampo noted that Rizal led "by a huge margin" of more than 80 percent. His "contender," Bonifacio, was "a far third" with only 1.9 percent.

But he said Filipinos should stop making the National Hero title such a competition among the 19th century heroes.

"Rizal, Bonifacio, Aguinaldo—they are all national heroes. It's not about asking young people 'Rizal or Bonifacio,' but telling them, 'You have two heroes. You have Rizal and Bonifacio,'" he said.

Ocampo also zoomed in on the fact that sandwiched between these 19th century figures was pound-for-pound king and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao, who got 2.8 percent.

"When you look at the list of names, there's Erap (former President Joseph Estrada), FPJ (Action King and presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr.), Chiz Escudero... So you have to ask yourself, who names these heroes and why do the people consider them as such?" he added.

As his lecture came to a close, Ocampo expressed his hopes that "common things" like banknotes would "make us appreciate—or not appreciate—people."

"Later on, when you open your wallet, give it a second look and think not just about history. Ask, 'Do these bills embody what we think we are?' And maybe it should help us reflect on the nation that we want to be, the nation that we hope to be, and, more importantly, the nation that, often, we fail to be," he said. — KG/ELR,gmanewstv

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 this holiday. People are being to be cautious and scrutinize bills passed on to them especially those of higher denominations.

BSP Notes won top prize despite controverisies

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.

The NGC banknotes recently won a finalist award for Best New Banknote Series in a conference in Singapore, despite being criticized for some errors and controversies.

Earlier this year, these notes became the subject of political and religious discussions due to the fact that some of the details were either not correct or insufficient.

Moreover, the new notes carry the slogan "PINAGPALA ANG BAYAN NA ANG DIYOS AY ANG PANGINOON" which has outraged some religious sects.

Best New Currency Feature?

The NGC version of the 500-peso and 1000-peso bills have an additional feature known as an optical variable device (OVD) patch and had won in the category of “Best New Currency Feature" — comparable to the dollar and Euro bills.

The OVD patch is a reflective foil that bears the image of BSP Logo with a parrot on the 500-peso bill and the South Sea Pearl inside a clam in the 1000-peso bill, which changes colors when the notes are rotated 90 degrees.

“The judges must have been impressed because of the beautiful combination between the security features and the design itself, and the play of colors," said BSP Vice Governor Diwa Guinigundo in an interview with Saleema Refran on GMA News TV's SONA.

The new bills were printed in France and are composed of 20 percent abaca fibers. But by the end of next year, the BSP expects to be able to print NGC banknotes here in the Philippines.

Revalidados: The Rare Holed Coins of the Philippines

Counterstamped coinage of the Philippines during the Spanish rule is in fact the hardest to collect of all numismatic rarities of the Philippines. Due to few available references for collectors like that of the books of Dr. Orphilla-Fortich and Pablo De Jesus, no other local numismatists have continued the study of Philippine Counterstamped coinage since.

Several individuals attempted to make further research on countermark coinage such as the prominent Barilla co-founder Dr. Benita Legarda, and other known officers from the organization Philippine Numismatic And Antiquarian Society (PNAS) but the short lived effort that managed to acquire some important specimen such as the SASTRE countermark for the BSP Money Museum have only produced facts that have already been outdated by time and the need for further expanding the avenue of research on the subject of Philippine Counterstamped coinage.

On March 13^th October 1828, Don Mariano Ricafort, Captain General of the Philippine Islands, a subdivision of the Vice-Royalty of Mexico, issued an edict introducing a system of marking the “pesos y onzas de oro” produced by the “provincias insurectas y gobiernos revolucionarios” of the South American continent so that such subversive words as “Republica”, “Indepencia”, and “Libre” commonly seen being bannered on the newly coined silver crowns of Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, and others be obliterated. The Spanish mint introduced machinery that could re-coin such silver crowns defacing them with their original legends and be replaced instead with that of “Habilitado por el Rey N.S.D. Fernando VII”, surrounded by a wide serrated border. The authorities of the still remaining colony in the East, the Philippines, desperate to oppress the awakening of the revolutionary spirit, devised a system that would not allow the flow of the new revolutionary coins into the Philippines.

Though crude and still not tested, the re-coining process was initiated in the year of 1828 by stamping the new coins with the large “MANILA” to assert the colonies restriction that otherwise guaranteed acceptance for trade and commerce. The production was however halted after less than 5 years of operation because the die easily worn out and later broke down thus, the authorities have decided to replace the die with a much simpler oval or circle countermark.

It was not until the 27^th of October in the year of 1832 that Don Pascual Enrile, the new Governor of the Islands, resurrected the mint’s stamping office replacing the complicated procedure with a much simpler oval punch. During that same year, the local authorities implemented the piercing of foreign and older coins as similar to modern day demonetization therefore making them obsolete and not for circulation anymore. Piercing was usually done and placed on the 12 o’clock on the obverse of the coins that have therefore created holes on the coins similar to that of medals and amulets. The countermark coinage of 1832 was not only for the purpose of stamping but otherwise for the revalidation of the obsolete or pierced currencies.

In the strict sense of grading coins, pierced or holed coins have to be graded less or appraised at a lesser value which would be considered degrading to the coins catalogue value. However, there is always an exemption to that rule and this can be applied to revalidated coins.

Historical records however does not indicate if the piercing of coins were officially done by the mint itself or by supervision to its citizen, whether voluntary or mandatory, or with application of standard tools or not but for some reason however, only one thing is for sure, only a handful of revalidated coins have surfaced in the past and each specimen can be considered unique to its own category.

The policy of revalidation however does not only occurred during the reign of Ferdinand VII, the later reign of Queen Isabel II otherwise adopted the same policy. However, it can be noted that the implementation of the policy that time was rather conservative and stricter which manifested on the specimen that have surfaced. The YII countermark can only be seen on F70 countermark revalidated coins and this can be proven by all specimens that have been previously collected. No specimen that only have “YII” or Isabel II countermark been placed either one or both holes of pierce coins without initially been stamped either by the “1828-1830 Manila” or Ferdin VII oval countermark have ever been found. There are YII countermarked holed coins but these however cannot be considered connected to the same type of coins such as the coin below.

Yet the cream of the crop still has its own cream on top. Among the favorite specimen of the revalidated coinage is the 1828 MANILA with a Ferdin VII oval countermark on its hole previously sold in an auction held by PNAS several years ago. Also a specimen to be considered unique is a Peru Libre 1823 with triple countermark, F70 on obverse and YII on both sides of the hole. Another impressive specimen is the Ferdin VII 8 reales minted in Zacatecas Mexico with triple countermarks including both Ferdin VII and Isabela II countermarks. However, what makes this coin special are the two different countermarks placed on each holes, F70 on the obverse and YII on the reverse.

Most noted specimen with two countermarks on both holes has one monarch’s countermarked placed on both holes either with Ferdin VII or Isabel II only. Different monarch’s countermarks are excessively rare and can be considered as a valuable treasure of Philippine numismatic.