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20 Centavos
| Issuer | Philippines Commonwealth Bureau of Health - Culion Leper Colony (Palawan) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1942 |
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| Currency | Centavo (1942-1945) |
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| Obverse description | Plain salmon-pink paper note with all text applied by typewriter-style letterpress in black ink. The face bears the denomination '20¢' at upper left and right, with the year '1942' repeated at both lower corners flanking the central issuing authority inscription. The obligation clause 'Is Obligated to Pay the Bearer' precedes the denomination in words, followed by 'In Legal Tender Currency', with three handwritten signatures below designating the Disbursing Officer, Acting Chief, and Chairman of the Emergency Currency Committee, and a handwritten serial number '6333' at lower left and right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is plain salmon-pink paper, largely unadorned, bearing a violet hand-stamp impression at center with the text identifying the Government of the Philippine Islands, Department of Public Instruction, Bureau of Health. The stamp is applied in a cursive-style hand-stamp typeface and serves as the authorizing endorsement for the note's issuance. |
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| Comments |
The Culion leper colony money is among the most unusual scrip series in Philippine numismatic history. Culion Island, off Palawan, housed what was at one point the largest leprosy settlement in the world, and its segregated economy required its own currency specifically to prevent colony notes from entering general circulation — a public health measure as much as a financial one.
The 1942 date places this issue squarely in the Japanese occupation period, when normal Commonwealth administrative functions were severely disrupted. Whether this particular issue was authorized under the residual Commonwealth health authority or issued under effective Japanese administrative pressure remains a point of debate among specialists.
Earlier Culion issues from 1913 onward were struck in aluminum; the shift to paper reflects wartime material shortages.