Catalog
500 Pesos Philippines
| Issuer | Treasury of the Philippines |
|---|---|
| Year | 1936 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Bureau of Engraving and Printing, United States (1862-date) |
| 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 | Vignette of Miguel López de Legazpi in three-quarter bust at left, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, set against a guilloche underprint with the large numeral '500' at center. A circular red Treasury seal appears at right, with the denomination stated in large letterpress text along the lower border reading 'FIVE HUNDRED PESOS' and 'TREASURY CERTIFICATE'. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BY AUTHORITY OF AN ACT OF THE PHILIPPINE LEGISLATURE APPROVED BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 13, 1922 THIS CERTIFIES THAT THERE HAS BEEN DEPOSITED IN THE TREASURY OF THE PHILIPPINES 500 PESOS PAYABLE TO THE BEARER ON DEMAND IN SILVER PESOS OR IN LEGAL TENDER CURRENCY OF THE UNITED STATES OF EQUIVALENT VALUE PHILIPPINES FIVE HUNDRED PESOS TREASURY CERTIFICATE |
| 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 Treasury Certificates of this series were printed in Washington under a colonial fiscal arrangement that required Manila to rely entirely on U.S. federal printing infrastructure — the Bureau of Engraving and Printing produced Philippine currency alongside U.S. federal issues as a matter of course during the Commonwealth period. The 500 Peso denomination was never intended for ordinary commerce; it functioned primarily in interbank settlement and large government transactions.
Most of the 1936 high-denomination stock was destroyed during or immediately after the Japanese occupation, either in the wartime bonfires ordered by retreating American and Filipino forces in 1941–42 or in postwar demonetization. Survivors at this denomination are rare for precisely that reason.