20 Pesos Blue seal

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.