Before the Spanish comes to the Philippines, a silver currency unit called 'salapi' is being used. This is a result of trading with India and Indonesia where they are called rupee or rupiah. When the Spaniards come, they brought silver peso which is worth 8 reales while they still allow the use or 'salapi' which is then worth 4 reales. The first coins brought was called macuquinas. The coin commonly shows a cross on one side and Spanish royal coat of arms on the other side.
Around the 1700's, coins from Latin America are also used, they are called gold escudos and silver reales. An escudo is approximately worth 2 silver pesos while 8 reales is equivalent to 1 silver peso.
A coin known as 'dos mundos' is used around the 1700's. It is called 'dos mundos' or two worlds because it is showing 2 globes with a crown. The globes symbolizes Spain rule over the old and the new world. It is also called as columnarios or silver pillar dollars because it shows 2 pillar on the side of the 2 globe.
Around the same, there's a shortage of fractional coins so Spain authorized the minting of local copper coins in Manila which are called barillas . Barillas denomination consist of 1/2 quarto (1 octavo) and 1, 2 and 4 quartos, 160 quartos is equivalent to 1 silver peso.
Around 1800's coins from other spanish colonies are also used in the Philippines but they are counterstamped with the word 'MANILA' for them to be identifies as a coin accepted in the Philippines but after 2 years, the counterstamp machine broke so they changed the counterstamp to 'F 7' which is the initial of the king of Spain.
Manila Mint was founded on 1857 to mint gold coins because silver becomes more expensive due to the California gold rush of 1848. Staring 1861, gold coins showing the profile of then queen Isabel II was minted with the denomination of 1 peso, 2 peso and 4 peso. In 1864, silver coins with the denomination of 10 centavos, 20 centavos and 50 centavos are also minted.
By 1880, another set of gold and silver coins are minted under the reign of King Alfonso XII. It has the same denomination of 10 centavos, 20 centavos and 50 centavos for silver coins and 1 peso, 2 peso and 4 peso for gold coins. By 1897, the last Philippine-Spanish coin was released showing the portrait of then King Alfonso XIII, the son of the previous king Alfonso XII, it is notable that the portrait is just a child because he became a king right after he was born. The denomination was 1 peso silver coin and 1 centavo and 2 centavo copper coins. |   |
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