Banknotes of the Philippine peso

Banknotes of the Philippine peso are issued by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines) for circulation in the Philippines. The smallest amount of legal tender in wide circulation is 20 pesos and the largest is 1000 pesos. The front side of each banknote features prominent people along with buildings, and events in the country's history while the reverse side depicts landmarks and animals. While the 5- and 10-peso denominations have been concurrently offered in coins in recent years, the 5- and 10-peso notes have yet to be demonetized.

On May 1, 1852, the first commercial bank of the Philippines, El Banco Español Filipino de Isabel 2A issued the following denominations initially 10, 25, 50 and 200 pesos fuertes (strong pesos). They were used until 1896.

The revolutionary republic of Emilio Aguinaldo ordered the issuance of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100-peso banknotes which were signed by Messrs. Pedro A. Paterno, Telesforo Chuidan and Mariano Limjap to avoid counterfeiting. However, only the 1 and 5-peso banknotes have been printed and circulated to some areas by the end of the short-lived First Republic.

By 1903, the American colonial Insular Government had issued Silver Certificates in the denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 pesos, backed by silver coin or U.S. gold at a fixed rate of 2:1. In 1908, the El Banco Español Filipino was allowed to print banknotes in the following denominations with text in Spanish: Cinco (5), Diez (10), Veinte (20), Cincuenta (50), Cien (100) and Dos Cientos (200) Pesos. In 1912, the bank was renamed Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and henceforth issued the same banknotes in English.

In 1918, the Silver Certificates were replaced by the Treasury Certificates issued with government-backing of bonds issued by the United States Government in the following denominations: One, Two, Five, Ten, Twenty, Fifty, One Hundred and Five Hundred Pesos. In 1916, the Philippine National Bank (PNB) was created to administer the state-holding shares and print banknotes without any quota from the Philippine Assembly. They printed banknotes in 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 peso denomination. During World War I, the PNB issued emergency notes printed on cardboard paper in the following denominations: 10, 20, 50 centavos and 1 peso. Also overprinted BPI Notes in Five, Ten and Twenty Pesos due to the lack of currency.

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