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20 Pesos Blue seal
| Issuer | Bank of the Philippine Islands |
|---|---|
| Year | 1928-1933 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | P#18 |
| Obverse description | Intaglio-printed vignette of a young Filipina woman at left, rendered in fine engraved detail with sheaves of grain, facing slightly right. The bank title 'The Bank of the Philippine Islands' appears in ornate script at centre, above the denomination 'TWENTY PESOS' in bold letterpress. A circular blue seal of the Bank of the Philippine Islands is positioned at right, accompanied by a serial number in blue, with two manuscript signatures below — Cashier at left and President at right — over the issue date 'Manila, P.I., January 1, 1928'. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse lettering | THE BANK OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS TWENTY PESOS TWENTY PESOS TWENTY PESOS |
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| Comments |
The Bank of the Philippine Islands was a private commercial bank — not a government institution — yet it was legally authorized to issue circulating currency under American colonial banking law. This note was produced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, a supplier to several Philippine chartered banks during the insular period, which often leads collectors to mistake these for U.S. government-issued Philippine currency. They are not.
The blue seal distinguishes this series from the red-seal issues that preceded it. BPI's note-issuing privilege was ultimately extinguished by the Commonwealth government in the mid-1930s as Manila moved toward establishing a central monetary authority.