Philippine Coin Information

Philippine Coinage

2011-12-12T17:56:00.000-08:00

Pre - Hispanic Coinage

Barter Ring
Shells
Piloncitos

Spanish Era Coins

Barilla
King Carlos III (Carolus III)
King Carlos IV (Carolus IIII)
King Ferdinand VII (Ferdin VII)
Queen Isabela II (Isabel II)
King Alfonso XII (Alfonso XII)
King Alfonso XIII (Alfonso XIII)

Revolutionary Coinage (Katipunan)

Malolos Republic
Aguinaldo

United States - Philippine Coinage

Introduction

Philadelphia Mint
San Francisco Mint
Manila Mint
Denver Mint

Culion Leper Colony

Republic of the Philippines Coinage

English Series
Pilipino Series

Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas Series

ISABEL II COUNTERSTAMPED COINAGE

2011-10-19T17:54:00.000-07:00

QUEEN ISABEL II PATTERN COINAGE & MEDALS

2011-09-19T18:03:00.000-07:00

PILONCITOS: The treasure of Philippine numismatic

2011-06-19T17:03:00.000-07:00

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.

1966

2011-06-19T04:17:00.000-07:00

One Centavo

Five Centavos

Ten Centavos

Twenty-Five Centavos

Fifty Centavos

1964

2011-06-18T04:16:00.000-07:00

One Centavo

Five Centavos

Twenty-Five Centavos

Fifty Centavos

1962

2011-06-17T04:14:00.000-07:00

One Centavo

Five Centavos

Ten Centavos

Twenty-Five Centavos

1960

2011-06-16T04:10:00.000-07:00

One Centavo

Five Centavos

Ten Centavos

1958

2011-06-15T04:09:00.000-07:00

One Centavo

Five Centavos

Republic of the Philippines Coinage

2011-06-14T04:06:00.000-07:00

1958

1959

1960

1962

1963

1964

1965

1966

Commemoratives

PATTERNS & TRIAL STRIKES

Introduction to Spanish Philippine Coinage

2011-06-13T23:15:00.000-07:00

Silver 2 Real-Size Proclamation Medal, 1834. Manila.
2.57 mm; 5.1 gms. Isabel II. Basso-95; Her-62. Arms of Spain, legend around; Reverse: Arms of Manila, legend around.

Although the Philippines was under Spain for over 300 years, minting of coins bearing the Coat of Arms of Manila or the symbol of Spain's rule over the archipelago was not a priority of the Spanish government due to absence of local mineral resources such as silver and copper which were the major components for minting coins during that period. Early coins were mostly likely minted in copper and dies used were either sub-standard or crude which caused the lost of interest of the natives for their economic activities because copper easily corrode especially in the wet and humid weather of the Philippines.

The first official coin minted in Manila was the 1766 Barilla which were later re-classified to Type 1 and Type 2 and first coin that not only clearly shows the Coat of Arms of the City of Manila but name the city as its origin. Although still in copper, these coins were struck using standard dies and uniform dimension was already applied. These coins are very small and thin compared to the modern coins which should made it very rare because it could be easily neglected and damaged by normal handling. Copper coins were continuously struck until the reign of Queen Isabel II when the first Minting facility in Manila was inaugurated.

The mint initially struck a crude silver medal commemorating its opening and the proclamation of Queen Isabela II as the ruler of Spain and its colony. The medal bears the coat of Arms of Manila and the crown of Queen Isabela II of Spain.

Barilla

King Carlos III

King Carlos IV

King Ferdinand VII

Queen Isabel II

King Alfonso XII

King Alfonso XIII

SAMPALOC BARILLA

2011-05-19T17:43:00.000-07:00

The SAMPALOC BARILLA is perhaps the most unusual coin of the Philippines in terms of shape. It is cast in lead and is one of the rarest among the barillas. SAMPALOC BARILLAS first appeared when it was excavated during a river widening project in the province of Laguna. Only about 2 to 3 specimen are believed to have been found.

Ferdin VII (F70) Counterstamp Coins

2011-05-06T18:07:00.000-07:00

How to Consign

2009-08-03T00:19:00.000-07:00

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Auction Schedules

Our company holds approximately 3 to 4 auctions a year. Consignments are accepted year round. Because consignments have to be catalogued and auction catalogs have to be sent to our bidders with time for them to study the lots, consignment deadlines are usually a month and a half months before the auction date.

How To Consign?

Consigning is easy. Just bring or send the items to us with a list of the items you are consigning. We will check the items and take care of the rest. Do remember to state any reserve you have in mind. If we think the reserve is too high, we will contact you with our suggested reserves. If you are sending the items by post or courier, please let us know in advance before sending the items so that we can advise you whether they are auctionable before you spend any money posting them to us.

How Much Do You Charge?

Our standard seller's commission starts at 15% of the final auction price. Please email us for inquiries.

Do I Have To Pay If The Item Does Not Sell?

We do not charge anything if your item does not sell. There is no hidden charge like insurance, cataloguing, photography charges and others. However, items sent to us from overseas consignors will be shouldered by the consignor unless the items can be picked-up or are located within the Philippines. Unsold items will be returned to consignor a week later after the auction ended.

When Can I Expect Payment?

Payment terms can be found in the standard Consignment Terms. Generally, this is within 2 weeks from when we receive payment from the successful bidder. It is not our policy to delay payment to consignors because we do not keep stock, so we do not require the money for financing. Consignors may wish to collect on paid items or upon completion of payment for the whole lots. Please contact us for further details..

What Currency Will I be Paid In?

Our auctions are held in US dollars. Payment will be made in US dollars unless you request otherwise.

How do I set the price for each item?

We would assess the value of your collection prior to consignment including authentication, grading (not applicable if has already been graded by reputable grading companies such as NGC, PCGS, ICG, ANACS, etc.), and appraisal to give you an idea on how much would you expect from your items.

Our standard consignment terms can be found in the Consignment Terms section of the Catalog.
E-mail us to request a copy of the Catalogue

1885 FOUR PESOS

2009-05-06T19:27:00.000-07:00

Mintage
EXTREMELY RARE

Mintmark
None

Specification
875 fine
87.5% Gold 12.5% Copper
6.7661 grams

1882 FOUR PESOS

2009-05-06T19:08:00.000-07:00

Mintage
VERY RARE

Mintmark
None

Specification
875 fine
87.5% Gold 12.5% Copper
6.7661 grams

1881 FOUR PESOS

2009-05-06T19:07:00.000-07:00

Mintage
UNKNOWN ---- EXTREMELY RARE

Mintmark
None

Specification
875 fine
87.5% Gold 12.5% Copper
6.7661 grams

1880 FOUR PESOS

2009-05-06T19:05:00.000-07:00

Mintage
3,192

Mintmark
None

Specification
875 fine
87.5% Gold 12.5% Copper
6.7661 grams

Realized Price
$48, 875
Lot 2410 Stacks Auction 2011

1885 FIFTY CENTAVOS

2009-05-06T19:03:00.000-07:00

Mintage
22, 700, 000

Additional 22, 649, 115 were struck between 1886 - 1893 all dated 1885

Mintmark
None

Specification
900 fine
90% Silver 10% Copper
12.980 grams

Realized Price

1884 FIFTY CENTAVOS

2009-05-06T19:02:00.000-07:00

Mintage
23, 000

Mintmark
None

Specification
900 fine
90% Silver 10% Copper
12.980 grams

Realized Price

1883 FIFTY CENTAVOS

2009-05-06T19:01:00.000-07:00

Mintage
2, 221, 000

Mintmark
None

Specification
900 fine
90% Silver 10% Copper
12.980 grams

Realized Price

1882 FIFTY CENTAVOS

2009-05-06T18:59:00.000-07:00

Mintage
1, 890, 000

Mintmark
None

1882 /1 and 1882 / 0 included

Specification
900 fine
90% Silver 10% Copper
12.980 grams

Realized Price

1881 FIFTY CENTAVOS

2009-05-06T18:58:00.000-07:00

Mintage
2, 480, 000

Mintmark
None

Specification
900 fine
90% Silver 10% Copper
12.980 grams

Realized Price

1880 FIFTY CENTAVOS

2009-05-06T18:57:00.000-07:00

Mintage
127, 000

Mintmark
None

Specification
900 fine
90% Silver 10% Copper
12.980 grams

Realized Price

1885 TWENTY CENTAVOS

2009-05-06T18:54:00.000-07:00

Mintage
1, 344, 000

Additional 4, 092, 205 were struck between 1886 - 1898 all dated 1885

Mintmark
None

Specification
83.50 fine
83.5% Silver 16.5% Copper
5.1920 grams

Realized Price