Philippines 1936 1 Peso Treasury Certificate (Pre-WWII Commonwealth Issue)

• Issuing Authority: Commonwealth of the Philippines / United States of America

• Denomination: One Peso (₱1.00)

• Series / Date: Series of 1936

• Catalog Reference: Pick # 80

• Serial Number: D6498593D (Red typography)

• Portrait: Apolinario Mabini (Revolutionary leader, political philosopher, and first Prime Minister of the Philippines)

• Signatures (Printed Facsimiles):

  • Manuel L. Quezon (President)

  • Salvador Lagdameo (Treasurer)

• Seal & Overprint:

  • Red circular Commonwealth of the Philippines Treasury Seal (incorporating the American eagle).

  • Red script overprint across the seal reading Manila / Philippines.

• Obligation Clause:

  "This certifies that there has been deposited in the Treasury of the Philippines / ONE PESO / Payable to the bearer on demand in silver pesos or in legal tender currency of the United States of equivalent value."

  
  

   

• Printer: United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP), Washington, D.C.

• Reverse: Intaglio engraving in warm orange/terracotta featuring an ornate guilloche scrollwork border framing ONE / PHILIPPINES / PESO.

Historical Context

• US BEP Production: During the American administration and Commonwealth era, official Philippine currency was designed and printed in Washington, D.C., using the exact same high-grade paper stock, intaglio plates, and security printing processes as United States currency.

• Pre-War Regular Issue vs. Guerrilla Scrip: Unlike the crude, locally printed wartime emergency scrip you have from Bohol, Negros, and Mindanao (which were produced in jungle hiding spots after the 1942 Japanese invasion), this note is an official pre-war Commonwealth Treasury Certificate printed before the outbreak of World War II.

• The "VICTORY" Note Predecessor: When General Douglas MacArthur's forces liberated the Philippines in late 1944, the US BEP reprinted this exact note design, adding a bold, heavy black VICTORY stamp across the back. This specimen is the original, unmodified pre-invasion 1936 issue that actively circulated right up to the fall of Corregidor and Bataan.

Technical & Visual Assessment

• Technical Grade: Good to Very Good (G 4 – VG 8)

• Wear & Condition Details:

  • Well-circulated, authentic wartime survival piece.

  • Heavy handling with multiple vertical and horizontal creases, softening the paper fiber.

  • Environmental toning, soiling, and light foxing spots consistent with humid tropical climate use.

  • Margins show moderate edge wear and minor rounding at the corners, but the bill remains structurally complete with no major missing chunks or catastrophic tears into the inner design.

  • Red serial numbers (D6498593D), red seal, and the Mabini vignette remain clear and fully legible.

Collector Value & Market Pricing

• Market Classification: Philippine Pre-WWII US Commonwealth Treasury Certificate.