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20 Centavos
| Issuer | Philippine National Bank, Iloilo City |
|---|---|
| Year | 1941 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Single-color red-orange note with a central circular vignette bearing the seal of the Philippine National Bank, flanked by the promise text reading 'THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL BANK WILL PAY THE BEARER ON DEMAND'. The denomination '20' appears in each corner alongside vertical 'CENTAVOS' lettering at left and right margins, with guilloche border ornamentation framing the entire face. Three signature lines for Provincial Auditor, Member of the Iloilo Currency Committee, and Provincial Fiscal appear at the lower centre, with serial number printed vertically at left and right. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed in the same single red-orange tone as the face, the reverse carries a central circular overprint reading 'EMERGENCY CIRCULATING NOTE OF 1941, ILOILO CURRENCY COMMITTEE, ISSUED UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES' surrounding an inner text panel. 'PHILIPPINE NATIONAL BANK' and 'TWENTY CENTAVOS' are printed in bold letterpress at the upper centre, while 'ILOILO CITY, PHILIPPINES' and the date 'DECEMBER 30, 1941' appear at the foot. Corner numeral '20' vignettes and vertical 'CENTAVOS' panels repeat the pattern established on the obverse. |
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| Comments |
The Philippine National Bank's provincial emergency notes of 1941 are among the more historically charged pieces in Philippine paper money. Issued from the Iloilo City branch just months before the Japanese invasion of December 1941, these circulated during the immediate pre-occupation period when the colonial banking system was rapidly losing its footing. The PNB authorized several regional branches to issue fractional emergency currency that year, partly to address chronic small-denomination shortages exacerbated by wartime hoarding of coins.
Iloilo branch notes are scarcer than those from Manila. Many were destroyed, either during the Japanese advance or in deliberate denial operations intended to keep currency out of occupying hands.