Catalog
1 Centavo
| Issuer | Japanese Government (Military Administration, Philippines) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1942 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Reverse description | Printed entirely in olive-green, the reverse is dominated by a large central guilloche vignette of bilobed form with fine lathe-work interlacing, bearing the bold white numeral '1' at its centre. The numeral '1' also appears in all four corners within ornamental scroll cartouches, and a continuous guilloche band frames the entire design within a plain ruled border. |
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| Variants | P#102a - 2 Block letters P#102b - fractional Block letters |
| Comments |
The Japanese military administration issued this note almost immediately after occupying the Philippines, replacing the Philippine Commonwealth peso system with a new currency the locals quickly dubbed "Mickey Mouse money" — a term that spread rapidly as inflation eroded its purchasing power throughout the occupation. The Philippine guerrilla resistance and American psychological warfare operations actively encouraged this distrust, even distributing forged examples to accelerate the collapse of confidence in Japanese-issued currency.
The 1 centavo is the lowest denomination in the series, and genuine examples saw heavy circulation among ordinary transactions. Forgeries exist but are uncommon at this denomination.