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1 Centavo
| Issuer | Philippines Commonwealth Bureau of Health - Culion Leper Colony (Palawan) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1942 |
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| Composition | Paper |
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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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| Reverse lettering | Issued by Authority of the PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES Transmitted 2/9/42 through the Commanding General, USAFFE, Iloilo THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS Department of Public Instruction Bureau of Health |
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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.