2018-09-18 Tue

The chain of event that gave birth to this currency started when the Japanese forces captured the Philippine Islands from 1943 to 1945. These islands were the territorial possession of the United States; Spanish ceded these islands to the US after the Spanish-American War. America paid around 20 million dollars for it.

These Emergency circulating notes, as they are officially called, were printed by the Philippine Commonwealth Government in exile. The resistant fighters and civilian officials created and used this guerrilla currency to pay for commodities. These bills do not have any government authority but Gen. MacArthur headquarters authorized their use.

These notes are divided into two types by the collectors, Provincial and Municipal issues.
The Municipal notes were used for small truncations. This note was not redeemable after the war. It was created due to the necessity of the regular economic transaction.
The Provincial notes were authorized by President Quezon. It was the creation Provincial Emergency Currency Boards. These notes were used even after the War.

These notes were made secretly, due to this it varied. One can find excellently crafted to crude specimens of these currency. All types of mediums like typewriters, wooden blocks, tires, metal plates and duplicating machines were few known methods used. Even the ink, size and paper varied.

The Second Philippine Republic was Japanese sponsored government. They put a banned on the possession of these Guerrilla currencies. These steps were taken to establish a monopoly on the currency regulation. Anyone found with Guerrilla notes was either arrested or executed.

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