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50 Centavos
| Issuer | Philippines Commonwealth Bureau of Health - Culion Leper Colony (Palawan) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1942 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Centavos |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | This Certifies That The !50¢! PHILIPPINES COMMONWEALTH !50¢! BUREAU OF HEALTH 1942 CULION LEPER COLONY 1942 Is Obligated to Pay the Bearer ::::-FIFTY-CENTAVOS-:::: In Legal Tender Currency Disb. Off., C.L.C. Actg. Chief, C.L.C. Chairman, E.C.C. |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS Department of Public Instruction Bureau of Health |
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| Comments |
Culion Island in Palawan housed one of the largest leprosaria in the world, and its internal currency existed specifically to prevent colony scrip from circulating on the mainland — a public health measure as much as a monetary one. The colony's notes were valid only within the settlement's perimeter, and patients received wages in this scrip for whatever labor they performed inside.
The 1942 date places this issue under Japanese occupation, when the colony's administrative situation was acutely precarious. Whether this particular printing was authorized under Commonwealth authority in exile or under Japanese-period administration is a question the catalog record alone cannot settle cleanly.