Coin Collection: Philippines New BSP Series Coins

The coins currently in circulation here in the Philippines ranges from 1 Sentimo to 10 Piso. All coins except for the 10 Piso were originally minted in 1995. The 10 Piso was minted in 2000 and is also a commemorative coin for the New Millennium. I have assembled the series with coins from the original minting years except for the 1 Sentimo. I may have been able to keep a 1995 1 Sentimo, but i currently don't have one in my album. I have yet to collate all the coins I have collected and kept into 1 album. For now, enjoy the current series coins of the Philippines.

2005 1 SENTIMO
OBVERSE:
"REPUBLIKA NG PILIPINAS"
"1 SENTIMO 2005"
Metal: Copper Plated Steel

2005 1 SENTIMO
REVERSE:
"BANGKO SENTRAL NG PILIPINAS"
BSP LOGO
1993
1993 is not the mintage year, its the year when BSP changed their logo.
Minting of this coin stopped in 2009

1995 5 SENTIMO
OBVERSE:
"REPUBLIKA NG PILIPINAS"
"5 SENTIMO 1995"
Metal: Copper Plated Steel

1995 5 SENTIMO
REVERSE:
"BANGKO SENTRAL NG PILIPINAS"
NO BSP LOGO
1993
1993 is not the mintage year, its the year when BSP changed their logo.
This is the only Philippine coin with a hole and there is no BSP logo.
The amount of metal in this coin is reportedly less than what is used in the 1 Sentimo because of the hole.

1995 10 SENTIMO
OBVERSE:
"REPUBLIKA NG PILIPINAS"
"10 SENTIMO 1995"
Metal: Copper Plated Steel

1995 10 SENTIMO
REVERSE:
"BANGKO SENTRAL NG PILIPINAS"
BSP LOGO
1993
1993 is not the mintage year, its the year when BSP changed their logo.

1995 25 SENTIMO
OBVERSE:
"REPUBLIKA NG PILIPINAS"
"25 SENTIMO 1995"
Coins minted from 1995 to 2003 were made of brass.
From 2004 to the present, it is made of brass plated steel.

1995 25 SENTIMO
REVERSE:
"BANGKO SENTRAL NG PILIPINAS"
BSP LOGO
1993
1993 is not the mintage year, its the year when BSP changed their logo.
You will notice that this particular coins reverse side is rather tilted at an angle.
It may have been an error during the minting. I have never seen one that has a very obvious tilt as this. 

1995 1 PISO
OBVERSE:
"REPUBLIKA NG PILIPINAS"
"1 PISO"
"JOSE RIZAL"
1995
Coins minted from 1995 to 2003 were made of copper-nickel.
From 2004 to the present, it is made of nickel plated steel.

1995 1 PISO
REVERSE:
"BANGKO SENTRAL NG PILIPINAS"
BSP LOGO
1993
1993 is not the mintage year, its the year when BSP changed their logo.
Its rather difficult to find a pristine 1 Piso coin from 1995 since this is the most circulated coin of the series.

1995 5 PISO
OBVERSE:
"REPUBLIKA NG PILIPINAS"
"5 PISO"
"EMILIO AGUINALDO"
1995
Metal: Nickel Brass

1995 5 PISO
REVERSE:
"BANGKO SENTRAL NG PILIPINAS"
BSP LOGO
1993
1993 is not the mintage year, its the year when BSP changed their logo.
Both sides of the coin feature a scalloped border.
I posted an interesting trivia about this coin here.

2000 10 PISO
OBVERSE:
"REPUBLIKA NG PILIPINAS"
"10 PISO"
"APOLINARIO MABINI"
"ANDRES BONIFACIO"
2000
Metal: Bi-Metallic Aluminium-bronze center in Copper-nickel ring
Year 2000 10 Piso coins are commemorative coins for the New Millennium.

2000 10 PISO
REVERSE:
"BANGKO SENTRAL NG PILIPINAS"
BSP LOGO
1993
1993 is not the mintage year, its the year when BSP changed their logo.
This is the first bi-metallic coin of the Philippines.
It was rumored that the center of this coin contained gold. Especially the ones minted in 2000 and 2001.
This is, however, just a rumor and BSP has denied any gold content in this coin.

These coins remain legal tender here in the Philippines, but the 1, 5, and 10 Sentimo coins are only accepted in Banks and shopping malls. It was suggested that the Sentimo denomination be demonetized and have the 1 Piso as the smallest denomination. The government has not made any action to demonetize the Sentimo yet. I came across some news that BSP is planning to make a new series of coins by 2014. If this is true, I have to find a way to get my hands on the new series as soon as they come out of the mint. This is exciting!

Enjoy!

Coin Collection: Phil-Am Commonwealth Coins

In 1937, the The Philippine American Commonwealth was well underway. A new set of coins were minted to replace the American Sovereignty coins. These coins, first minted in 1937, were considered unattractive, but like its predecessors, some of the coins contained silver. Nowadays, silver coins are limited to proof coins and collection set coins and not meant for circulation. These however were regular circulation coins yet were part silver. These were minted until 1945 and were replaced by the English Series coins in 1958. However no coins were minted in the years 1942 and 1943 because that was when the war broke out and I think we, The Philippine Islands, were then occupied by the Japanese at the time.

1944(s) 1 Centavo Coin
Obverse:
Man with a hammer sitting by an anvil with Mt Mayon in the background.
"ONE CENTAVO" "FILIPINAS"
Metal:  Bronze

1944(s) 1 Centavo Coin
Reverse:
Phil-Am Commonwealth coat of arms
"UNITED STATES OF AMERICA"
s 1944
Minted in San Francisco, USA

1937 5 Centavo Coin
Obverse:Man with a hammer sitting by an anvil with Mt Mayon in the background.
"FIVE CENTAVOS" "FILIPINAS"
Metal: Copper-Nickel
TRIVIA:
There were 2 metal types for this coin.
First, from 1937 to 1941. Coins from these years were minted in Manila and made from Copper-Nickel.
Second, from 1944 to 1945. Coins from these years were minted in the US.
These were made from copper-nickel-zinc.

1937 5 Centavo Coin
Reverse:
Phil-Am Commonwealth coat of arms
"UNITED STATES OF AMERICA"
1937
This is the oldest Philippine coin in my collection so far.

1945(D) 10 Centavo Coin
Obverse:
Lady Liberty striking an anvil with Mt Mayon in the background.
"TEN CENTAVOS" "FILIPINAS"
Metal:  Silver (.750)

1945 (D) 10 Centavo Coin
Reverse:
Phil-Am Commonwealth coat of arms
"UNITED STATES OF AMERICA"
D 1945
Coins from 1937 to 1941 were minted in Manila.
1944 to 1945 coins were minted in Denver, USA.

1944(D) 20 Centavo Coin
Obverse:
Lady Liberty striking an anvil with Mt Mayon in the background.
"TWENTY CENTAVOS" "FILIPINAS"
Metal:  Silver (.750)

1944(D) 20 Centavo Coin
Reverse:
Phil-Am Commonwealth coat of arms
"UNITED STATES OF AMERICA"
D 1944
Coins from 1937 to 1941 were minted in Manila.
1944 to 1945 coins were minted in Denver, USA.

There is one coin missing from this series and that is the Fifty Centavo coin. I posted a blog about it here.

My Cousin owns this one.

It is quite difficult to find coins from 1937. They are either in really bad shape or rather expensive in fine condition and even more expensive in UNC (uncirculated) condition. For now i am satisfied that at least i have almost completed the Philippine Commonwealth coins. Now lets see if someone is willing to donate a coin to complete this series. :P

A better close up view of the 1 Centavo coin. I have 4 of these.

These coins have a dark patina to them, They are well worn, but most details still show.

Enjoy!

Coin Collection: 1997 5 Peso Coin (BSP)

A few posts back, I posted a trivia about the Philippines 5 Peso coins minted 1997 and 1998. Most of the coins from these years were minted in the Royal Canadian Mint. However, some were also minted here in the Philippines.

A friend of mine dared me to look for one that was made locally, and since the 5 peso coin is currently in circulation, it didn't take long for me to find one. Worthy, here is proof that Manila Mint made 5 Peso coins in 1997.

5 Piso PHILIPPINES
Notice the mint mark of BSP below Emilio Aguinaldo's shoulder.

My friends and I had dinner at McDonald's and I was fortunate to find this coin in my change. Only thing left is to wait for a 1998 to turn up in my change.

Enjoy!

Coin Collection: Trivia about the Philippine 5 Peso Coin

The current Philippine 5 peso coin was first minted in 1995. This replaced the 5 peso bill and the 5 Peso coin of the Improved Flora and Fauna Series. It has a rather simple design and its not a very fancy coin.

 



One interesting fact about the current 5 peso coin is that during 1997 and 1998, some of the 5 peso coins were minted in the Royal Canadian Mint. Oh yes. That would mean that our coins with the year mark 1997 and 1998 are imported. However, not all 1997 and 1998 5 peso coins were minted at the RCM. How can you tell whether or not a 5 peso coin from 1997 or 1998 was made in RCM? Look at the following photos.

The 1997 coin in this photo was minted at the RCM.
Aside from the year mark, what else is different between the two coins?
If you will notice, the 2005 coin has Bangko Sentral's mint mark below Aguinaldo's shoulder.
The 1997 coin has no mint mark.

1997 coins minted at the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM).
These coins are very common and can be easily found in circulation.

A 1998 5 peso coin from RCM surrounded by new, 2011, 1 peso coins.
This is another very common coin in circulation  that is plentiful.

Isn't it cool? The next time you spend a 5 peso coin, check the year mark. You never know, you could be spending an imported coin.

Enjoy!

Coin Collection: Updated Philippines English Series Coins

Finally my Philippine English series coins from 1958 is complete. I have finally put together coins from the year 1958, the first minting year of these coins. My first post regarding these coins can be found in the link below.

Philippine Coins: English Series

Now some photos of the all 1958 Philippine English Series coins.

I did not include the reverse photos anymore since you can view that in my previous entry about the English Series coins.

Enjoy!

Coin Collection: Improved Flora and Fauna

I remember back in the 90's, there was a time when we started opening all our coin banks and started depositing our savings in the bank. During this time the coins in our "piggy banks" were the Philippine Flora and Fauna series coins. It made me curious why we started opening all our coin banks so I asked my parents why we were counting all our money and they just told me that the government is going to change our money. Initially, I thought that the government was really going around changing peoples money to new and shiny ones. Little did I know that the government was going to demonetize the current series.

It was 1991 when Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas started minting the new series. I don't recall the first time I saw the new coins, but I do remember commenting that the government shrunk our coins. The 5 peso coin was reintroduced in this series and I remember liking this coin because it was thick and heavy. It was also made of brass so the color intrigued me during the time. I even thought it was made of gold. I wasn't particularly fond of the new series of coins and it wasn't long until the government again changed the coins, back in 1995, to a new series which we still use to this day.

I have completed the Improved flora and fauna series thanks to my cousins donation. He gave me his 1991, 5 peso coin and 25 centavo coin. All my coins in this series are from the original minting year of 1991. These coins were minted until 1994. The 1, 5, and 10 centavos were retained from the original flora and fauna series so I didn't include them here.

25 SENTIMO
This was really small compared to the original. One can easily lose this coin.

25 SENTIMO REVERSE
It retained its original design it was just smaller.
This was donated by my cousin, Darryll Biscaro.

50 SENTIMO OBVERSE
The original was nickel. This one is made of brass. The size is almost the same as the 25 sentimo.
People sometimes accidentally interchange the two coins when giving out change.

50 SENTIMO REVERSE
The eagle is still there. Same design. No mint errors this time around.

1 PISO OBVERSE
Same design just smaller in size.

1 PISO REVERSE
The tamaraw is still there. One thing I observed when this came out was that it sticks to magnets.
Apparently, the metal was changed to stainless steel. I don't know if it was really stainless,
because I remember seeing rusted coins at home.

2 PISO OBVERSE
This one had a major change. Its no longer the decagon shaped coin we once knew.
It was changed to round and size was reduced, but the design remains the same.

2 PISO REVERSE
Yup! this is the coconut where you can tie the tamaraw from the 1 PISO to make 3 PISO.
If you didn't find that funny, you have no sense of humor.
Even though the size was reduced, the detail on the coconut is still amazing.

5 PISO OBVERSE
This was the new coin of the series. Of the coins in this series, this has to be my favorite.
It looked like a shiny gold coin to me back then. I even had the idea that it might be made
out of real gold. It turns out there is 0 gold in this coin.

5 PISO REVERSE
It took me a while to finally realize that the plant on this coin our national tree, the Nara.
Those are its leaves and seed pods on the coin.
Thanks to my cousin, Darryll, for donating this coin to my collection.

There you have it. The Improved Flora and Fauna series coins of the Philippines. Personally, the only improvement in this series is the 5 Peso coin. These coins are not rare. They can be easily acquired from coin shops at a very cheap price. In my set, none of the coins were purchased because they are still common that one can find these in old coin banks. Check your old coin banks, you may even have a complete 1991 series in pristine condition. As time goes by, of course these will eventually become rare. So if you have one that looks new, keep it. Or you can donate it to my collection. I would gladly accept it.

Enjoy!