Gold, which was plentiful in many parts of the islands, invariably found its way into these objects that included the piloncitos, small bead-like gold bits considered by the local numismatists as the earliest coin of the ancient Filipinos, and gold barter rings.

PRE-HISPANIC ERA

Trade among the early Filipinos and with traders from the neighboring islands was conducted through barter. The inconvenience of barter later led to the use of some objects as medium of exchange.

The outbreak of World War II caused serious disturbances in the Philippine monetary system. Two kinds of notes circulated in the country during this period. The Japanese Occupation Forces issued war notes in big denominations. Provinces and municipalities, on the other hand, issued their own guerrilla notes or resistance currencies, most of which were sanctioned by the Philippine government in-exile, and partially redeemed after the war.Japanese Occupation

The Americans instituted a monetary system for the Philippine based on gold and pegged the Philippine peso to the American dollar at the ratio of 2:1. The US Congress approved the Coinage Act for the Philippines in 1903.

The coins issued under the system bore the designs of Filipino engraver and artist, Melecio Figueroa. Coins in denomination of one-half centavo to one peso were minted. The renaming of El Banco Espanol Filipino to Bank of the Philippine Islands in 1912 paved the way for the use of English from Spanish in all notes and coins issued up to 1933. Beginning May 1918, treasury certificates replaced the silver certificates series, and a one-peso note was added.

PeriodAmerican

After World War II, the Philippines gained its independence and adopted the Peso after gaining independence. The Piso replaced the Peso in 1962, and is divisible into 100 Sentimos (Centavos).The occupying Japanese government issued fiat currency in several denominations known asJapanese government-issued Philippine fiat peso. The Japanese-sponsored Second Philippine Republic under Jose P. Laurel out lawed possession of guerrilla currency and declared a monopolyon the issuance of money and anyone found to possess guerrilla notes could be arrested. Due to the fiat nature of the currency, the Philippine economy felt the effects of hyperinflation. The Filipinos called the fiat peso,"Mickey Mouse" money, due to the fact that it was similar to play money and next to worthless. Many survivors of the war tell stories of going to the market laden with suitcases or "bayong" (native bags made of woven bamboo strips) overflowing with the Japanese-issued bills. 75Mickey Mousepesos, or about 35 U.S. dollars at that time, could buy one duck egg. In 1944, a box of matches cost more than 100Mickey Mousepesos

Postwar Period During World War II, the Japanese issued Military Gumpyo Pesos (PHJ) at par with the Philippine Peso which continued to circulate; however, Philippine forces had withdrawn into the jungle, and issued their own Guerilla Pesos (PHG), redeemable in paper Pesos after the war was over. The Japanese made use of the Guerilla Pesos punishable by death, but since this would have led to the collapse of the Philippine economy, local Japanese authorities acquiesced and often allowed the Guerilla Pesos to circulate. During the war, the Japanese Military peso depreciated relative to the Commonwealth Peso with the conversion rate declining from 1.25 PHJ = 1 PHP by May 15, 1943 to 1.44:1 in June 1943, 20:1 in July 1944 and 120:1 in January 1945. The Ballantyne Scale was adopted by the Congress of the Philippines in 1945 to calculate these conversion.rates.

Central Bank Note TheEnglish Serieswere Philippine banknotes that circulated from 1949 to 1969. It was the only banknote series of thePhilippine pesoto use English as the language. ThePilipino seriesbanknotes is the name used to refer toPhilippinebanknotes issued by theCentral Bank of the Philippinesfrom 1969 to 1973, during the term ofPresidentFerdinand Marcos. It was succeeded by theAng Bagong Lipunan Seriesof banknotes, to which it shared a similar design. The lowest denomination of the series is 1-pisoand the highest is 100-piso. This series represented a radical change from theEnglish series. The bills underwent Filipinization and a design change. The banknotes first issued by today'sBangko Sentral ng Pilipinas(formerly the "Central Bank of the Philippines") were the VICTORY-CBP Overprints in 1949, which were merely overprints of older American-era banknotes. The first official banknote series to be printed were the English Series in 1951.

After the declaration ofProclamation 1081by PresidentFerdinand Marcoson September 23, 1972, the Central Bank was to demonetize the existing banknotes in 1974, pursuant to Presidential Decree 378. All the unissuedPilipino Seriesbanknotes (exceptone pesobanknote) were sent back to theDe La Rueplant inLondonfor overprinting the watermark area with the words "ANG BAGONG LIPUNAN" and oval geometric safety design. The one peso bill was replaced with thetwo peso bill, which features the same elements of the demonetized Pilipino series one peso bill.On September 7, 1978, the Security Printing Plant inQuezon Citywas inaugurated to produce the banknotes. And a minor change of its BSP seal.The banknotes were still legal tender even after the introduction of theNew Design Seriesbanknotes, however it is seldom used after theEDSA Revolution. The banknotes were eventually demonetized on February 2, 1993 (but can still be exchange with legal tender currency to the Central Bank until February 2, 1996)after clamors that the banknotes can be used to buy votes for the1992 Presidential Elections.

TheAng Bagong Lipunanseries(literally, TheNew SocietySeries") is the name used to refer toPhilippinebanknotesissued by theCentral Bank of the Philippines from 1973 to 1985. It was succeeded by theNew Design seriesof banknotes. The lowest denomination of the series is 2-pisoand the highest is 100-piso.Bagong Lipunan Money

In 2009, theBangko Sentral ng Pilipinasannounced that it will launch a massive redesign for the banknotes and coins to further enhance security features and to improve durability.The members of the numismatic committee included Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo and Dr.Ambeth Ocampo, chairman of the National Historical Institute. Designed by Studio 5 Designs and Design Systemat, the new banknotes' designs features famous Filipinos and iconic natural wonders. Philippine national symbols will be depicted on coins. The BSP started releasing the initial batch of new banknotes in December 2010. On December 16, 2010, the new design for Philippine banknotes were released. The use font for letter wasmyriadand the numbers areTw Cen font.

New Generation Currency series

Pia Samantha T. Daseco