7-Coin Brilliant Uncirculated Coin Collection Royal Mint
A brief history
Some 500 miles off the south east coast of Asia lies the archipelago of islands known as the Philippines. Visited by the famous navigator Ferdinand Magellan in , who claimed the islands for the Spanish, they were named “Filipinas” after the son of the King of Spain.
The first coins are copper barilla of with the name of Manila on the obverse. Issues of copper octavos and quartos followed in , their more obviously Spanish style being reflected by the presence of the Arms of Spain on the obverse. Between and overseas silver coins, chiefly Spanish-American dollars, were specially countermarked for circulation in the Philippines, and the currency was also augmented by the issue of two quartos and four quartos in copper
In the coinage was reorganized along decimal lines, with a peso of 100 centimos. The new coins consisted of the peso, 2 pesos and 4 pesos in gold, and 10, 20 and 50 centimo, and eventually also 1 peso, pieces in silver. These all show the portrait of the Spanish monarch on the obverse and the Arms of Spain on the reverse.
After cession of the Philippines to the United States of America in 1898, this Spanish-style coinage was superseded by a new coinage of 100 centavos to the peso. These coins bear the Arms of the United States, to be replaced by the Arms of the Philippines following Independence in .
The present distinctive coinage of 100 sentimos to the piso was introduced in . Completely new designs were adopted, appropriately featuring people prominent in the history of the Philippines.
The Philippines
Some Facts and Figures
LOCATION: Western Pacific Ocean. A chain of some 7,000 islands to the north-east of Borneo and north of the Celebes and Moluccas (Indonesia). The main islands are Luzon and Mindanao.
LAND AREA: 116,000 square miles
CLIMATE: Tropical Greenwich Mean Time
CAPITAL: Manila, in the island of Luzon
LANGUAGE: Pilipino (based on Tagalog), English and Spanish; many different local dialects are also in use.
(Facts and figures reproduced by kind permission of ‘The World in Figures’ published by the Economist)
The Philippines, situated off the south east coast of Asia, are a group of some 7000 islands, of which only 1000 are inhabited. They were originally connected to the mainland, but after the last glacial period the waters rose, inundating the land bridges and only the upland areas were left exposed.
The Philippines
The islands are divided into three main groups - Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. They are part of a mountainous girdle of active volcanoes, the most impressive being the 8077 feet high Mount Mayon, one of the world's most perfectly shaped cones and one of the country’s most active volcanoes.
Enjoying the benefits of rich and fertile soil, the Philippines is a chiefly agricultural country. It is the world's largest producer of coconuts, with coconut products being the principal export.
The Cultural Centre of the Philippines
Fossilized human bones provide evidence of man on the islands as far back as 22000BC. More recently, during the sixteenth century the islands were invaded by the Spanish and remained under their control until when they were ceded to the United States. Independence as a republic was eventually attained on . The national heroes of the Philippines are portrayed on the obverse of each coin in this collection, whilst the reverses feature rare species of fauna, flora and marine life indigenous to the islands.
Striking coins at the Royal Mint
Combining metals to create an alloy is the first step in the minting of coins. The metal used for each denomination is produced as a continuous strip directly from the furnace. The strip is then rolled under pressure to the requisite coin thickness and the blanks are punched out. The 'hard cut' blanks are then annealed (softened by heating! washed and dried before being passed to the coining press where they are struck under great pressure between a pair of dies. Throughout these processes the utmost care is taken to ensure that the Royal Mint's high reputation for quality is maintained.
Black-mantled Fairy Bluebird from Basilan
Royal Mint
Llantrisant, Mid Glamorgan CF7 8YT
7-Coin Brilliant Uncirculated Coin Collection Royal Mint Blister Packing was produced in