Yes, the writing on the back is entirely authentic and is supposed to be there.

Just like with your Negros 50 Pesos note, hand-signed validation marks on the reverse were an official security requirement for many Philippine provincial emergency boards:

• Manual Issue Validation: Because the Bohol Emergency Currency Board operated with rudimentary local letterpresses, raw sheets lacked modern anti-counterfeiting features like watermarks or security threads. To formally authorize a bill for public circulation, designated provincial officials or treasury clerks had to manually sign or initial the back.

• Two Distinct Markings:

  • Top Paraph / Flourish: The looping mark at the top is an official control flourish (rúbrica), used by treasury clerks as a quick initial to show the certificate had passed registry inspection.

  • Bottom Signature: The larger cursive script across the bottom border is the validation signature of a designated local certifying officer.

• Proof of Legitimacy: The Japanese occupation forces and local counterfeiters both attempted to fabricate emergency notes to disrupt provincial economies. A genuine, hand-inked signature on the back gave merchants and guerrilla quartermasters confidence that the note was legitimately backed by the provincial board and eligible for post-war redemption by the Philippine Commonwealth.

Rather than being stray ink or collector writing, these markings are an integral part of the note's wartime history and confirm it was officially issued into field service.

Philippines WWII 1942 5 Pesos Bohol Emergency Currency Certificate

• Issuing Authority: Bohol Emergency Currency Board (Issued by authority of the President of the Philippines)

• Territory / Region: Island Province of Bohol (Tagbilaran, Bohol)

• Denomination: Five Pesos (5 Pesos)

• Series / Authorization: Series of 1942

• Catalog Reference: Pick # S137 (Specialized Issues / Philippine Guerrilla & Emergency Currency)

• Serial Number: 130917 (Printed twice vertically along the border in red-orange ink)

• Board Officials (Face):

  • Actg. Prov. Treas. / Member

  • Prov. Auditor / Chairman (facsimile signature initials)

  • Prov. Fiscal / Member (printed facsimile signature)

• Reverse Validation: Contemporary blue-black ink counter-signatures and security paraphs (top and bottom) applied by local currency control officers prior to disbursement.

• Legal Obligation Text:

  "By authority of the President of the Philippines this certifies that the Government of the Philippines will redeem this certificate at face value upon termination of emergency. FIVE PESOS. Payable to the bearer on demand in lawful currency of the Philippines. Bohol Emergency Currency Board."

• Emblem / Seal: Commonwealth of the Philippines / United States of America circular seal at the bottom center.

• Reverse Inscriptions:

  "Issued by the Bohol Emergency Currency Board / Tagbilaran, Bohol / FIVE PESOS / PHILIPPINES" flanking an open roman numeral V.

• Paper / Print Execution: Coarse, fibrous local emergency pulp/Manila craft paper printed via local provincial letterpress typography.

Historical Context

• Following the Japanese invasion in early 1942, the provincial capital of Tagbilaran and the resistance movement across Bohol were severed from Manila's national treasury.

• Acting under emergency authorization from President Manuel L. Quezon (issued prior to his evacuation to Australia and the U.S.), the Bohol Emergency Currency Board was convened in 1942 to issue localized currency to keep the provincial economy functional and finance local civil administration and defensive resistance.

• Unlike your 1943 Negros note which was a deep-jungle guerrilla issue printed while on the run, this 1942 Bohol issue represents the opening emergency phase right as formal U.S.–Filipino military command structures collapsed into territorial guerrilla units (led on Bohol by Major Ismael Ingeniero).

• Holding, trading, or failing to surrender emergency provincial scrip like this to Japanese occupation forces carried immediate penalties of execution or imprisonment under the Japanese military police (Kempeitai).

Technical & Visual Assessment

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

• Preservation Highlights:

  • Authentic, heavy field circulation under humid tropical wartime conditions.

  • Noticeable margin notches/splits along the left rim (center margin tears typical of rough handling or storage).

  • Natural fiber darkening, age-toning, and surface handling grime throughout the paper stock.

  • The red serials (130917) and the black letterpress borders remain clearly visible and legible.

  • The reverse features genuine contemporary ink validation markings, verifying it was officially signed out into active circulation.

Collector Value & Market Pricing

• Historical Classification: Philippine Emergency / Guerrilla Scrip (Bohol Island Issue