In part 8 of this series on the history of Philippine Paper Money we will take a look at the last Philippine banknotes printed by the United States as a post WWII stop-gap – Victory Banknotes (1944-1951).
Victory Notes
In 1944 the Philippine Government printed Victory banknotes, or series 66 as they are otherwise known. Why 66? It was the age at which President Quezon passed away, just prior to the liberation of the Philippines. Victory notes were intended to be used upon the return of General Douglas MacArthur to the Philippines. Several reports have indicated that MacArthur was actually carrying some of these notes on his person when he landed in Leyte in 1944.
In 1949 the Central Bank was created to administer the banking and credit systems of the Philippines. In 1949 the Central Bank issued the second series of Victory notes which had “VICTORY” printed in black and “CENTRAL BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES” in red on the reverse. Victory notes were considered to be a stop-gap and filled that role until the Central Bank released the English series in 1951.
The 1 peso Victory note of 1944 is by far the easiest and most inexpensive to collect in this series with over 61,000,000 printed. By contrast, around 200,000 of the 500 peso notes were printed making it rare and expensive. 1949 victory notes are also more scarce than the 1944 varieties.
1944 Victory Notes
Image
Denomination/Years
Released
Type P94a
1 Peso Treasury Certificate 1944
Type P94a: Signatures Osmena / Hernandez 61,192,000 notes produced
Note features Mabini on the front, orange on the reverse.
Type P95a
2 Pesos Treasury Certificate 1944
Type P95a: Signatures Osmena / Hernandez (Title of Auditor General) Type P95b: Signatures Roxas / Guevara (Treasurer)
16,231,272 P95a notes were produced 2, 347728 P95b were produced
Note features Rizal on the front, blue reverse.
Type P96a
5 Pesos Treasury Certificate 1944
Type P96a: 17,355,000 were produced
Note features McKinley and Dewey on the front, yellow reverse.
Type P97a
10 Pesos Treasury Certificate
1944
Type P97a: 16,825,600 were produced
Note features Washington on the front, brown reverse.
Type P98a
20 Pesos Treasury Certificate 1944
Type P98a:Signatures Osmena / Hernandez (Title of Auditor General) Type P98b:Signatures Roxas / Guevara (Treasurer)
12,439,635 P98a notes were produced 1,063,765 P98b were produced
Note features the Mayon Volcano on the front, yellow reverse.
Type P99a
50 Pesos Treasury Certificate 1944
Type P99a:Signatures Osmena / Hernandez (Title of Auditor General) Type P99b:Signatures Roxas / Guevara (Treasurer)
1,884,686 P99a notes were produced 456,414 P99b were produced
Note features the Lawton on the front, red reverse.
not acquired
100 Pesos Treasury Certificate 1944
Type P100a:Signatures Osmena / Hernandez (Title of Auditor General) Type P100b:Signatures Osmena/ Guevara (Treasurer) Type P100c:Signatures Roxas / Guevara (Treasurer)
487,335 P100a notes were produced 363,266 P100b were produced 404,799 P100b were produced
Note features the Magellan on the front, green reverse.
not acquired
500 Pesos Treasury Certificate 1944
Type P101a:Signatures Osmena / Hernandez (Title of Auditor General) Type P101b:Signatures Osmena/ Guevara (Treasurer) Type P101c:Signatures Roxas / Guevara (Treasurer)
12,991 P101a notes were produced 130,725 P101b were produced 163,284 P101c were produced
Note features the Legaspi on the front – 101a & 101b are olive-green on the reverse while 101c is purple.
1949 Victory Notes
Banknotes from 1949 are distinguishable from the previous series by the words “VICTORY CENTRAL BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES” overprinted on the reverse. Additionally, some Victory notes from 1949 have subtle differences on the reverse in the thickness of the font that was used for the overprint.
Image
Denomination/Years
Released
Type P117b
1 Peso Treasury Certificate Central Bank Overprint 1949
Type P117a: Thick lettering in overprint Type P117b: Medium lettering in overprint Type P117c: Thin lettering in overprint
Note features Mabini on the front, orange on the reverse.
not acquired
2 Pesos Treasury Certificate Central Bank Overprint 1949
Type P118a: Signatures Osmena / Hernandez Type P118b: Signatures Roxas / Guevara
Note features Rizal on the front, blue reverse.
not acquired
5 Pesos Treasury Certificate Central Bank Overprint 1949
Type P119a: Thick lettering in overprint Type P117b:Thin lettering in overprint
Note features McKinley and Dewey on the front, yellow reverse.
not acquired
10 Pesos Treasury Certificate Central Bank Overprint 1949
Type P120a
Note features Washington on the front, brown reverse.
not acquired
20 Pesos Treasury Certificate Central Bank Overprint 1949
Type P121a:Signatures Osmena / Hernandez Type P121b:Signatures Roxas / Guevara
Note features the Mayon Volcano on the front, yellow reverse.
not acquired
50 Pesos Treasury Certificate Central Bank Overprint 1949
Type P122a:Signatures Osmena / Hernandez Type P122b:Signatures Roxas / Guevara Type P122c:Signatures Osmena / Hernandez with thick lettering in overprint
Note features the Lawton on the front, red reverse.
not acquired
100 Pesos Treasury Certificate Central Bank Overprint 1949
Type P123a:Signatures Osmena / Hernandez Type P123b:Signatures Osmena/ Guevara Type P123c:Signatures Roxas / Guevara
Note features the Magellan on the front, green reverse.
not acquired
500 Pesos Treasury Certificate Central Bank Overprint 1949
Type P124
Note features the Legaspi on the front, green reverse.