In part 4 of the History of Philippine Paper Money we will continue our look into Philippine banknotes issued under the Insular Government of the Philippine Islands – Silver Certificates and Treasury Certificates (1903-1941).
United States Issues – Insular Government of the Philippines
As previously mentioned, this can be a complicated and overwhelming area for the collector as there were many different types of notes, different note providers and often subtle differences from one year to the next. In the previous section we covered off Standard Notes and now we will focus on Silver Certificates and Treasury Certificates (1903-1941).
Silver Certificates
Silver certificates were issued from 1903 to 1916 and were replace by Treasury Certificates in 1918. Silver Certificates were backed by silver coins or U.S gold at the rate of 2:1. Banknotes from 1903 will have the words “Payable to the bearer on demand” on them, while notes printed after 1903 will have additional wording that reads “Payable to the bearer on demand in silver pesos or gold coin of the United States equivalent value”.
2 different seals were used in this series, with seal #1 present on 1903 banknotes and seal #2 on banknotes from 1906. Seals were printed in either red or blue and have “Manila Philippine Islands” overprinted in black in a cursive style font.
Image
Denomination/Years
Notes
not acquired
2 Pesos Silver Certificate 1903 (Type P25)
Issuer: U.S. Treasury Rizal on front with red seal #1. Blue dominant colour on reverse. “Payable to the bearer on demand”.
not acquired
2 Pesos Silver Certificate 1906 (Type P32)
Issuer: U.S. Treasury Rizal on front with red seal #2. Blue dominant colour on reverse. “Payable to the bearer on demand in silver pesos or….”.
not acquired
5 Pesos Silver Certificate 1903 (Type P26)
Issuer: U.S. Treasury McKinley on front with blue seal #1. Red dominant colour on reverse. “Payable to the bearer on demand”.
not acquired
5 Pesos Silver Certificate 1910 (Type P35)
Issuer: U.S. Treasury McKinley on front with blue seal #2. Red dominant colour on reverse. “Payable to the bearer on demand in silver pesos or….”.
not acquired
10 Pesos Silver Certificate 1903 (Type P27)
Issuer: U.S. Treasury Washington on front with red seal #1 and red X on front. Brown dominant colour on reverse. “Payable to the bearer on demand”.
not acquired
10 Pesos Silver Certificate 1912 (Type P36)
Issuer: U.S. Treasury Washington on front with red Government of the seal #2 and red X on front. Brown dominant colour on reverse. “Payable to the bearer on demand in silver pesos or….”.
not acquired
20 Pesos Silver Certificate 1908 (Type P34)
Issuer: U.S. Treasury Mount Mayon on front with blue seal #2 and 2 x’s on front in blue. Tan dominant colour on reverse. “Payable to the bearer on demand in silver pesos or….”.
not acquired
50 Pesos Silver Certificate 1916 (Type P37)
Issuer: U.S. Treasury Lawton on front with red seal #2. “Payable to the bearer on demand in silver pesos or….”.
not acquired
100 Pesos Silver Certificate 1916 (Type P38)
Issuer: U.S. Treasury Magellan on front with red seal #2. “Payable to the bearer on demand in silver pesos or….”.
not acquired
500 Pesos Silver Certificate 1906 (Type P33)
Issuer: U.S. Treasury Legazpi on front with blue seal #2 and red X on front. “Payable to the bearer on demand in silver pesos or….”.
Treasury Certificates
Issued in 1918 Treasury Certificates replaced Silver certificates and were backed by bonds issued by the United States Government.
All Treasury Certificates contain the seal of the Commonwealth of the Philippines in either red or blue. This is the same seal that was used on Silver Certificates from 1906: