5 Pesos Philippines Islands, Treasury certificate

Treasury certificates were introduced in the Philippines in 1918 to replace the older silver certificates, backed initially by a peso-for-peso silver reserve held in Manila. By 1929, the Philippine economy was deeply enmeshed with the U.S. dollar system, and these notes circulated alongside American currency at a fixed two-to-one rate. Dwight F. Davis — whose signature appears here as Secretary of War — is better known as the donor of the Davis Cup tennis trophy, a biographical detail that still surprises collectors.

The BEP-produced plates gave the series a visual authority that local printing could not have matched, though all engraving costs were charged back to the insular government in Manila.