Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
20 Pesos William Jones, Blue seal, Yellow rays
| Issuer | Philippine National Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Cotton paper |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Central intaglio portrait vignette of Congressman William A. Jones within an oval laurel wreath frame, flanked by ornate guilloche cornerpieces bearing the denomination numeral '20' in each corner. A circular blue seal of the Philippine National Bank appears at right with a countersignature, while a Roman numeral 'XX' monogram in green underprint is positioned at left; the upper margin carries the bank title in bold letterpress, with 'SERIES OF 1919' noted at upper right and the issuing authority text at upper left. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | PHILIPPINE NATIONAL BANK CIRCULATING NOTE THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL BANK ISSUED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF ACT 2612 OF THE PHILIPPINE LEGISLATURE AS AMENDED BY ACT 2747 SERIES OF 1919 WILL PAY THE BEARER ON DEMAND TWENTY PESOS IN LAWFUL CURRENCY OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Philippine National Bank was established in 1916 partly to reduce Filipino dependence on foreign banks — particularly the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, which had effectively dominated commercial lending in the archipelago. These early PNB issues were printed by the BEP in Washington under a practical arrangement stemming from the American colonial administration's existing relationship with the bureau.
Pick 48 is among the scarcer PNB issues from this period. The blue seal variant distinguishes it from later seal color changes made as the bank adjusted its note authentication practice through the early 1920s. William Jones, for whom the series is named, served as U.S. Secretary of War — under whose department Philippine insular affairs fell at the time — and was instrumental in the Jones Act of 1916, which reorganized the colonial government and expanded Filipino legislative autonomy.