Catalog
1 Centavo
| Issuer | Philippines Commonwealth Bureau of Health - Culion Leper Colony (Palawan) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1942 |
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| Currency | Centavo (1913-1974) |
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| Obverse description | Plain cream paper note of utilitarian wartime design, with typewritten-style text arranged in horizontal bands across the face. The upper portion carries the denomination value '1 1¢' at each side alongside the date '1942', followed by the issuing authority inscription in capital letters. The central legend reads 'ONE CENTAVO' flanked by decorative colons, with the obligation clause 'Is Obligated to Pay the Bearer' and 'In Legal Tender Currency' printed below; three manuscript signatures with their respective titles — Disbursing Officer C.L.C., Acting Chief C.L.C., and Chairman E.C.C. — appear at the foot alongside a serial number repeated at lower left and right. |
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| Obverse lettering | This Certifies That The PHILIPPINES COMMONWEALTH BUREAU OF HEALTH CULION LEPER COLONY 1942 Is Obligated to Pay the Bearer :::::-ONE CENTAVO-::::: In Legal Tender Currency Disb. Off., C.L.C. Acg. Chief, C.L.C. Chairman, E.C.C. |
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| Comments |
Culion was established by the American colonial administration in 1906 as a forced isolation colony for leprosy patients on a remote island in the Sulu Sea. At its peak it held over 16,000 patients — one of the largest such colonies ever operated — and functioned as an almost entirely self-contained society, complete with its own currency. The leper colony scrip was introduced precisely to prevent the notes from circulating off-island; ordinary Philippine currency received by patients or staff was confiscated and replaced with these purpose-issued pieces.
The 1942 date places this issue under Japanese occupation, a period when the colony's already precarious supply lines were severely disrupted. Whether Japanese authorities formally sanctioned continued scrip issuance or simply ignored the colony is not entirely clear from surviving records.