Catalog
4 Pesos
| Issuer | Tesoro de las Islas Filipinas |
|---|---|
| Year | 1877 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The royal arms of the Islas Filipinas appear as a vignette at the left, enclosed within a laurel wreath. To the right, the large ornate denomination numeral "4" is set within an elaborate circular guilloche medallion, flanked on either side by the abbreviation "Ps. Fs." in decorative letterpress. The upper portion carries the title "Billete del Tesoro" in Gothic script, with the issue decree date arched above the central vignette, and three manuscript signatures below the Manila date line, with series and serial number indicated at the top. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Reverse is blank, with no printed design or text. |
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| Comments |
The Tesoro de las Islas Filipinas notes of 1877 were colonial treasury obligations, not bank-issued currency — a distinction that mattered legally and practically under the Spanish administration. The Philippines had no central bank of issue at this point; the Banco Español-Filipino held that role for banknotes proper, leaving the treasury to handle these smaller fractional instruments through its own channels.
J. Oppel's Manila lithography shop produced this locally rather than sourcing printing from Spain, which was the exception rather than the rule for colonial paper at this period. Local production kept costs down but introduced inconsistencies in ink saturation and plate wear that make individual examples difficult to grade uniformly.