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20 Pesos Blue seal
| Issuer | Bank of the Philippine Islands |
|---|---|
| Year | 1928-1933 |
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| Printer | Bureau of Engraving and Printing, United States (1862-date) |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed entirely in golden-yellow, with a bold central panel bearing the bank name 'THE BANK OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS' and denomination 'TWENTY PESOS' in large serif lettering, surrounded by an elaborate guilloche framework of floral and foliate ornaments. Large numeral '20' vignettes appear at left and right within decorative cartouches, and the denomination 'TWENTY PESOS' is repeated at the top and bottom margins within the ornamental border. |
| 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.