200 Pesos - Isabel II

The Banco Español Filipino de Isabel II was established in 1851 as the first bank of issue in the Philippines — and indeed the first in any Spanish colony. By 1865 the bank was producing its highest-denomination notes at a time when 200 pesos represented an enormous sum relative to local wages, placing these firmly in the hands of Manila's merchant class and colonial administrators rather than ordinary circulation.

The queen for whom the bank was named had already been politically weakened in Spain by 1865 and would be deposed outright in 1868. Notes bearing her name continued in use regardless — colonial finance moved on its own timetable.